


The Heart of Eternity

by Templarlady



Category: True Blood
Genre: F/M, Historical Fantasy, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Romance, Sexual Content, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-20
Updated: 2014-02-01
Packaged: 2017-12-29 23:16:55
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 40
Words: 69,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1011255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Templarlady/pseuds/Templarlady
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alex's new position enables her to access the Authority's archives and opens up new horizons for her and Bill to explore.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

So Alex became the Authority's new Librarian.

Sounds pretty straightforward doesn't it? 

Well it wasn't......or not for her at any rate.

She found the whole idea difficult to accept at first. She blew hot and cold, one minute thinking it was a good idea and the next, obviously terrified that it would be too much for her. Eventually I lost patience with her wavering and sat her down on the sofa, kneeling in front of her on the hearthrug.

“Just what exactly are you afraid of Alex?” I asked.

“Oh!” she ran her fingers through her thick glossy black hair in frustration. “I don't know! That's part of the problem...... I have no idea what to expect. I'm terrified that I'll make a complete fool of myself!”

She looked down at me her eyes wide, like a frightened child. I smiled back at her and took her hands in mine.

“You mustn't be afraid of this Alex” I said quietly and calmly. “Everyone knows that you're young and inexperienced. They won't expect too much from you, not at first” I felt my expression hardening a little “and if they do......if anyone gives you any trouble, they'll have me to deal with!”

“Well.....” She cast around for another excuse. “It's too far to travel to London every night! I always hated the idea of commuting when I was working, I don't see why I should have to start now!”

“You wouldn't need to” I explained. “The Authority maintains a number of apartments in their London Headquarters. One of them is reserved for the Librarian.”

Now she really looked horrified. “You want us to live in Alberic's old apartment! Oh Bill I couldn't......really I couldn't!”

I laughed. “Of course not! We would take one of the others. Listen Alex, I really think you should do this.” I lifted her hands to my lips and kissed them gently. “You remember that dream? The emptiness of existence opening out in front of you? I've never mentioned this to you before but, since we are practically invincible, have you never thought to wonder why the earth isn't entirely populated with vampires by now? One reason is that a high proportion of young vampires never survive their first year.”

She sat quite still, staring at me. Clearly this was something that had never occurred to her. “Why ever not?” she asked.

“Well, before the Revelation, it was believed to be largely due to a lack of deception skills, they weren't used to having to conceal their nature, it takes time to develop the knack of passing unnoticed amongst humans, or of glamouring them into forgetting that they've seen you. We assumed that after the Revelation this wouldn't be so much of a problem but strangely enough nothing seemed to change. The theory now is that there is some kind of …... almost a death wish.....the idea of immortality is too much for many young vampires. They can't cope with it and they seem to lose the will to go on. This is why you must have something in your life Alex. Something to concentrate on, to work at, to keep your mind occupied.”

“I've got you.....”

I smiled. “Something more than that!”

She sat thinking about this for a moment. “What about you?” she asked. “Did you feel this too?”

I looked down and gripped her hands a little tighter. “Oh I'm not a good example I'm afraid. There were many occasions on which I thought of destroying myself. I hated and despised what I had become, but........maybe Lorena kept too close an eye on me.......maybe I was just too much of a coward.....but somehow I never did.” 

I was looking at her but my eyes weren't focussed on her any more, I was looking back into the past. “Even at my very lowest point, the very worst of times, there was always something in me that struggled to survive. A legacy perhaps of my time in the Army.”

I smiled up at her. I simply couldn't bring myself to tell her that I had once finally given up all hope. That I had threatened to destroy myself if Lorena would not release me and that I had truly meant it. That the only other time I had felt that impulse was after leaving Bon Temps for the last time, while I wandered the world, sick in body and mind.......until I met her. 

“That's why I think you should do this” I explained. “It will give you something else to think about, something outside your......our condition. Something relatively normal, well for you anyway. You've always had books in your life, this will just be an extension of that.......”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After Bill’s little pep talk I resolved to pull myself together and make an effort. Ulrich had arranged for us to have one of the apartments Bill had told me about and so we went up to London one evening to take a look at it. We walked into the stable yard where the cars were parked and Bill walked over to his car, the keys ready in his hand. Suddenly he stopped and looked back at me. I was standing with my hand on the roof of my TVR as I realised that I hadn’t driven it since the night of the accident.

“Are you okay Alex?” he asked, laying a gentle hand on my arm. He looked over at the car. “It wasn’t damaged was it?” he asked. “The Police brought it back a while ago…..”

He looked down at me and I could tell what he was thinking. “Would you like to drive?” he asked quietly.

I suddenly saw the face of the man who had got out of the van that night. I saw the sleeve of his jacket as he reached into the car for me, saw the symbol on his sleeve. “Umm…no that’s fine, you can drive……” 

I turned to move away from the car but Bill was standing in the way and blocked me with his body, putting an arm around me.

“I think you should” he said softly. He put his other arm around me and began to stroke my back. “Everything will be fine. I’ll be right there with you. You loved driving this car, you mustn’t let the memory of what happened affect you and you know the longer you leave it the more difficult it will be.”

I had half a dozen excuses ready on the tip of my tongue but I knew in my heart that he was right. I pulled the key out of my handbag and pressed the button, hearing the doors unlock with a solid clunk. Bill smiled and politely opened the driver’s door for me. I took a deep breath and got in, slipping the key into the ignition and turning off the immobiliser as Bill got in beside me. The car was smaller than his Aston Martin and as I reached for the gear lever to check it was in neutral my hand brushed his arm as it rested on the cream leather armrest. He glanced across at me.

“Should I fasten my seatbelt?” he asked.

“The way I drive you probably should!” I replied with a smile.

Bill winked at me. “That’s my girl!”

I started up the big V8 engine and eased the car out of the yard at the side of the Mill House and into the lane. I knew that, to get out onto the London road, I would have to drive around the bend where the van had stopped me that night and the thought made my hands shake as I gripped the wheel. I knew Bill could feel my fear through the blood bond but he said nothing, just sat quietly beside me as I drove out of the village and as we headed out onto the London Road I could feel the fear receding as I began to enjoy myself. By the time we reached the underground car park allotted to the Authority’s apartments I was feeling sufficiently confident to snarl an insult at a taxi driver who pulled out in front of me at the traffic lights. I was understandably twitchy about people pulling in front of me and when he shook his fist at me I bared my fangs at him angrily. The effect was magical. He paled immediately and dropped back straight away.

I turned down the ramp and pulled up at a pair of huge closed, black gates. Bill asked me to lower my window and leaned over me to hold up a pass to the security camera. After a moment there was a rumbling noise and the gates rolled open to allow me to pass, then immediately rumbled shut again behind me. Security was evidently just as efficient as in most of the Authority’s premises. Bill directed me down another ramp to a parking space, explaining that when we moved in we could register both the cars and the cameras would then recognise the number plates on entry to the car park.

“Well, you seem to have got your confidence back!” he said, getting out of the car. “You certainly scared the hell out of that taxi driver!”

I bit my lip guiltily. “I really shouldn’t have but I was just so annoyed and, I must admit there was a touch of fright in there too. I really don’t like people cutting in front of me, not after Alberic’s gang…..”

“Hey, you don’t need to apologise to me!” smiled Bill, holding open a steel security door that he had opened with the same pass. “It’s perfectly understandable!”

“But I’ve never behaved like that before! I didn’t even think about it, it was like……..”

“Instinct?” asked Bill. “It was. You felt threatened and reacted accordingly. It’s quite normal.”

We were walking down an unimpressive concrete corridor towards another steel security door. I paused and looked back as Bill opened the second door with his pass.

“Well I don’t think much of this so far……” We stepped through the door and my complaints dried up as I felt the thick dark blue carpet beneath my feet. The walls of the corridor were painted in a warm creamy orange and the muted lighting set at intervals into the ceiling made the place seem almost cosy.

“Ah, there you are, good timing!” I turned to the right to see Ulrich strolling down the corridor towards us. “Come this way, I’ll show you the empty apartment!”

He reached out an arm and put a hand on Bill’s shoulder, directing us back the way he’d come. We passed two recessed doors, one on either side of the corridor before Ulrich stopped at the next door and pulled out a key from his pocket. Inserting it into the lock he turned to Bill and smiled. “Most of us are happy with electronic security measures outside but we like to have a proper key to our homes, however much additional security there is!” 

Well, I’ll say this for the Authority, they didn’t stint themselves. The apartment was magnificent! The outer door opened into an entrance hall with a beautiful polished hardwood floor, containing a tall dresser and a row of coat hooks on the wall. Directly in front of the outer door was a set of wooden doors inlaid with patterned Art Deco glass which opened into a large lounge. Thick dove grey carpet covered the floor and two comfortable looking black leather sofas were arranged on either side of a low oak coffee table and there was a large flat screen TV mounted on one wall.

However the thing which struck me first was the open, light and airy feel to the place. There was no obvious lighting and we were not only underground but it was the middle of the night! Suddenly I noticed that on two of the walls were what appeared to be large windows but which, on closer inspection turned out to be merely sheets of opaque glass behind which was set some subdued lighting. This gave the effect of light coming in through windows and was startlingly effective.

At one end of the room were two doors, one leading to a modern well appointed bedroom and the other to a quite sizeable kitchen, although the only obvious equipment was a fridge freezer and a microwave. Since these apartments were built for vampires I supposed that this was not surprising, but I was still sufficiently new to this world to find it odd. At the other side of the large lounge an open spiral staircase with pale wood steps curved up from the lounge to open out in a wide hallway with three doors opening off it. Of the two on one side, one opened into a cosy study with one wall lined with empty bookshelves and a large desk against one wall and the other onto a large bathroom.

The third door opened into an enormous bedroom with a king sized bed against the far wall. The bed was surrounded by a modern four poster frame in a dark wood and had a white muslin curtain draped down the wall from the top of the frame. A long padded ottoman stood at the foot of the bed with a comfortable looking armchair in one corner of the room opposite a modern looking ebony and glass dressing table. One wall was completely covered with built in wardrobes and another had an open doorway leading into an en-suite bathroom, the walls lined with a warm amber coloured marble with a shower cubicle across the far end closed off with glass doors.

The fact that the apartment was sparsely furnished made it seem even bigger but Ulrich handed me one of those matt black credit cards saying “You’ll probably want to buy some more furnishings, linen and so on. This will give you an advance on your salary.”

Salary! I was stunned for a moment. I hadn’t even thought about a salary…… I began to realise that I had been living in a bit of a daze for quite some time. Bill was right, I needed something to occupy my mind. Once Ulrich had left us to look around I turned to Bill. “I never even thought about a salary! How stupid am I? I wonder how much it is?”

Bill threw back his head and laughed. “All that agonising over the job and you never even considered the money! You’ll have to e-mail Ulrich’s office and ask but I understand that the Librarian’s salary is quite substantial.” He leaned down and kissed me. “I could soon have quite a wealthy wife!”

He stood for a moment looking down at me. “You do appreciate that as Librarian you’ll have a seat on the High Council of the Authority as well?”

If I could have gone any paler I’m sure I would have! “No! seriously?”

“You wouldn’t be expected to attend all the meetings, but there would be some where you might be requested to turn up. I’d like to be able to wriggle out of attending myself but I need to show up for a decent proportion of meetings to earn my salary! Besides, if Lilith and Mab both attend I need to be there to referee!”

I sat down suddenly on one of the sofas. “This is turning out to be more complex and time consuming than I thought.”

Bill chuckled as he sat down beside me. “Well darling, time is something that we have an abundance of!”

He looked around at the spacious apartment. “What do you think of this place then?” he asked.

“Well with a lick of paint, maybe a few pictures, I could live with it….” I said with a grin.

“Hmmm……I don’t know” he answered, looking very serious. “This room seems okay but I really think we should check out the other rooms first.”

He stood up and reached for my hand. “Come on!” he said firmly leading me back up the stairs. “We have to make sure this place is suitable for us.”

He opened the door to the main bathroom and we admired the cream marble, the white sunken whirlpool bath and the corner shower unit. Then we crossed the corridor to the master bedroom. I checked out the fitted wardrobes and the dressing table. “Looks fine to me!” I said turning to leave only to find Bill blocking the doorway.

“Well that’s not very thorough now is it?” he breathed huskily, sliding an arm around my waist. “I really think we should test out the bed, if we’re going to be staying here for any length of time……..”


	2. Chapter 2

Since I had finally acknowledged that I was going to accept the post of Librarian I thought I had better start doing something about my lack of language skills. I assumed that it would take quite a while, possibly years, until I was able to read Latin or Greek with any fluency and so the sooner I got started the better.

Typically for me, my approach to learning a new language was to go out and buy books on the subject. After letting Ulrich know that we were happy with the Apartment we headed back to the Mill House where I decided to begin with Latin, since I at least had some experience with it at school. For several nights I spent all my time poring over Latin Grammar until Bill finally lost patience, picked me up, threw me over his shoulder and carried me off to bed. When he caught me muttering Latin phrases to myself he pinned me down on the bed with a growl and began kissing me thoroughly until I was unable to think of anything else but the pleasure of his soft mouth on mine.

To be honest, I was a little surprised at the speed with which I picked up Latin but put it down to the fact that I could recall quite a bit from my schooldays. After a few days solid work I mentally congratulated my old Latin master and decided on a different challenge. I picked up a heavy tome on Egyptian Hieroglyphics I had found in Blackwells, the University bookshop in Oxford. This was something quite different. It was one of the earliest recorded languages known and had no written vowels. I curled up in my favourite corner of the sofa reading through the exercises and checking my results against the translations provided.

By the end of the second night I was beginning to be quite seriously worried. I was sitting curled up on the sofa before the fire and I got up, still holding the book and walked slowly across the hall to Bill’s study. Opening the door I peeped in, Bill was sitting at the desk with his back to me.

“Bill? Are you busy?” I asked tentatively.

He turned towards me. “I’m never too busy for you sweetheart! You know that” he said, then he got a look at the expression on my face.

“Alex? Whatever’s wrong?” 

“Well….” I wasn’t quite sure how to articulate my worries but I went over to him and put the book down on the desk. 

“You remember I bought this book the day before yesterday? In Oxford?” I asked.

“Yes…..” Bill was obviously confused.

“Well listen to this…” I turned to one of the exercises at the end of the book and began to read a passage in hieroglyphics. “Hail to thee, Amun-Ra, Lord of the thrones of the earth, the oldest existence, ancient of heaven, support of all things. Chief of the gods, lord of truth, father of the gods, maker of men and beasts, maker of all things above and below. Deliverer of the sufferer and oppressed. O Amun-Ra, Creator of Life, your children come forth at the dawn of a new sun.......”

“That’s very good dear, you’re doing really well” said Bill encouragingly. He obviously had absolutely no idea what I was worrying about!

“Okay! Perhaps that wasn’t a very good example!” I glanced around the room and noticed the long carved box containing Bill’s copy of the vampire bible. The one that Berenice had given him. Taking it carefully down off the shelf I opened the box.

“Do you mind if I……..?” 

“Please……help yourself!” said Bill, sitting back in his office chair and watching me curiously.

I carefully lifted out the scroll and rolled it open at random. I placed a finger gently on a line of hieroglyphics. “Here look, Chapter 9, Verse 24…………. Fear not, for my blood is beyond fear. Fear of sin, fear of mankind, fear of retribution. For thou art begat by God and this world is but a spring to slake thy sacred thirst........” I paused. “Good Grief! Did Lilith really write this stuff?”

Bill raised an eyebrow. “Well, I have my doubts actually, although that part sounds quite like her!” He eyed me speculatively. “That was very impressive. I know you've not read the translation.......”

“That was more than impressive Bill. That was positively incredible!” I said.

“So......you're a fast learner?”

“Bill!” I struggled to explain my vague fears. “No one learns to read hieroglyphics in forty eight hours! That's not possible! The Latin.....well, I told myself that maybe I was better at it at school than I remembered. That it was all coming back to me. But this.........this is different, this is...........impossible!”

I saw Bill's lips begin to curl up in a little smile as it dawned on him what the problem was. 

“What? You know something about this don’t you?” I asked, astonished.

“Well……..”

“Tell me!” I demanded. “What’s happening to me? Don’t you think I have a right to know?”

Bill took my hand and pulled me down onto the chair with him. “Of course you do sweetheart” he murmured soothingly. “I didn’t mention it before because…..well….”

He sighed. “Okay!....... Most vampires, when they are turned, develop a special talent. It could be anything from fighting, to being able to play a musical instrument, to flying…..all kinds of different things. It appears that your special talent is for languages. Generally it enhances something that was in the person before they were turned, for example I had a pretty good memory when I was human but now my memory is almost perfect. I can remember clearly everything I’ve ever done or seen, which believe me is not always a good thing….”

I sat on his lap trying to take this in. “A special talent? So why haven’t you ever mentioned this before? Why didn’t you tell me about it?”

“Well, it never came up before. As for why I didn’t tell you….sometimes it doesn’t happen, no-one knows why. I didn’t want to get your hopes up, just in case you were one of the few who misses out.”

I thought about this for a moment. “There’s no way of telling in advance what the talent might be?” I asked.

“Well, no!” Bill looked surprised. “As I said, sometimes it doesn’t happen at all. Why would you think that?”

“I just wondered if that was why Ulrich thought I would be able to take over the Library” I said thoughtfully.

Bill sat back and looked at me speculatively. “Hmmm……Ulrich certainly has a lot of experience in these things. It’s possible that, knowing you were highly intelligent and loved reading, he guessed that your talent would be something he could use.”

I leaned against Bill’s shoulder and looked up at him. “What happened between you two?” I asked.

Bill looked surprised for a moment. He seemed to be about to deny it but then changed his mind. “Well…..you remember when I went up to London to meet him the night after Alberic was killed?”

“Yes. You didn’t want me to come with you for some reason……”

“I suspected that there might be trouble. Alberic was an old friend of his……a very old friend.”

“So, what happened?” I asked.

Bill sighed. “We had a row and I threatened him.”

I sat up and stared at him, shocked. “Threatened him? Why? And with what?”

“Oh, he was being particularly obnoxious, demanding to know if I or Mab had killed Alberic. ‘You’d better be telling me the truth!’ he was practically wagging a finger at me like I was a naughty five year old.” Bill looked slightly embarrassed. “Well, I just lost my temper I’m afraid. I suddenly remembered how I had felt when I lost contact with you. The pain of that loss just overwhelmed me and I let him have it! I basically told him that you were the only thing holding me back from destroying the Authority altogether. That if I had lost you I could have used the power of either Lilith or Mab or both to bring the whole organisation down around his ears.”

I reached up and put a hand on his cheek. “And would you have?” I asked quietly. 

“I don’t know. I was……I felt numb, lost. I don’t know what I would have done. If Alberic had succeeded in killing you I might never have discovered his involvement anyway, but if I had…..and the Authority had tried to protect him…..then yes. You know that either Lily or Mab would have happily given me the power to destroy it if I had asked them.”

I couldn’t help smiling. “Because they both fancy you, you mean?”

Bill now looked highly embarrassed.

“Oh come on! You surely didn’t think I hadn’t noticed?”

“I swear I’ve never done anything to encourage them!” he insisted.

I snuggled up against him and he put his arm around me. “I know that darling, I trust you.” I said. “So, is everything okay between you and Ulrich now?”

“I think so. What made you think that something was wrong anyway?” he asked curiously.

“I’m not sure exactly” I answered, trying to pinpoint exactly what it was that I had noticed. “It just seemed as if there’d been a shift in your relationship. He seems a little more wary of you, shows you a little more respect. I think he always knew that you had power, but I don't think it ever occurred to him that you might use it against him.” I turned my face up to him. “You’re too nice and reasonable.”

Bill smiled and kissed me gently. “Well I guess he knows now that if anything happens to you I’ll be far less nice and reasonable! Perhaps he’ll keep a closer eye on his associates in future!”


	3. Chapter 3

After Bill's explanation of my strange new aptitude for languages I began to feel a little more comfortable with my position and decided that we should furnish and redecorate the apartment. I roped in Susie and Azaria to help me in a shopping expedition to Oxford Street and they agreed so readily that I guessed I might lose them in some department store as they set off on their own shopping quests. However, I was determined not to be side-tracked by clothes, shoes and cosmetics, although I did allow myself a little diversion into toiletries to stock up the bathrooms.

I bought several sets of bedding, quilt covers in a rich, heavy cream cotton with a deep purple border and several sets of matching pillowcases with some plain cream sheets for the master bedroom and some biscuit coloured ones with a dark chocolate border for the guest bedroom. Then I went completely mad in The White Company and bought several sets of their incredible fluffy Egyptian cotton towels in cream, purple smoke and pearl grey. I was planning to make the most of that whirlpool bath and needed the enormous bath sheets to wrap myself in afterwards.

Bill had insisted that we take a car from the Authority's pool, together with a vampire security guard and we were struggling back to the car with our purchases when I spotted something in the window of a small art gallery. Positioned to one side of the display was a matched pair of abstract paintings on black canvas and in ebony frames. They were simply a swirling maelstrom of colours painted in oils with a knife, making the paint stand up in little peaks on the surface and I thought they would look just perfect on the pale coloured wall of the lounge.

“Hey Victor, hold on a minute!” I called.

The guard looked back over his shoulder and walked back to where we were gazing into the window of the little gallery.

“Look, can you take this stuff back to the car and give us some time to have a look around the gallery?” I asked. “There's a little bar down there....” I pointed down the lane beside the gallery, “........we'll pop in there for a drink when we've finished. Give us.....oh, say half an hour?”

Victor looked a little doubtful. “Mr Compton said I was to keep an eye on you Ma'am” he said.

Oh he did, did he! “Well don't you worry! I'll deal with Mr Compton!” I said firmly.

Victor reluctantly agreed and we piled our purchases into his arms until he was loaded up like some kind of pack pony. “Half an hour, in that bar!” he said warningly.

“We'll be there! I promise!” I told him, pushing the door of the little gallery which opened with the clanging of a little bell set into the door frame.

After ten minutes of haggling I had bought both the original oil paintings for what I considered to be a very reasonable price and arranged to collect them later so we headed for the bar. The door opened on a short flight of steps going down to a snug little low ceilinged room where a skinny guy with a ponytail and an earring was polishing glasses behind the bar. I noticed that, although most of the patrons were human, there was a glass chiller cabinet of Tru Blood behind the bar.

Susie ordered a Gin and tonic and hurried off to the Ladies while Azaria and I sat on two tall stools at the bar and waited for our Tru Bloods to be warmed up. We were chatting idly about our shopping expedition when I noticed that Susie had emerged from the Ladies and was trying to get back to the bar. She was being hindered by three guys wearing black who were obviously trying to chat her up. I caught Azaria's eye and nodded towards them.

“Think we should go and rescue her?” she asked.

“I think Gerry would appreciate it!” I answered with a grin and turned towards the nearest of her three suitors. 

“Hey Casanova!” I said, reaching over and tapping him on the shoulder. “She's with us!”

I had extended my fangs, assuming that when they saw that Azaria and I were vampires they'd make some excuse and leave but when he turned to me I realised that they were vampires too. Damn it! I guessed from all the black leather and piercings that they probably weren't much older than me and certainly wouldn't stand a chance against Azaria, but I didn't want any trouble.

Casanova gave me a slow once over, his fangs fully out. “Well hello ladies! She's yours is she? Well why don't you join us as well, we can all have some fun!”

“Sorry boys but I doubt if her boyfriend would approve. And I'm damn sure my husband wouldn't!” I said with a friendly smile.

“Oh come on! I won't tell if you don't!” he answered with what I'm sure he considered was a seductive smile.

At this point one of his companions, who had moved around towards Azaria noticed the matt black credit card lying on the bar in front of me and recoiled as though he'd been burnt. He put his hand on Casanova's arm and tried to pull him away but he wasn't having it. The second boy got hold of him by the collar of his coat and pulled him forward, whispering frantically into his ear. I caught the word “Authority” but he was too late. The door opened and Victor came into the bar.

However that phrase simply doesn't do justice to the effect. The Authority's vampire guards were chosen not for their intelligence or their good looks but for their sheer intimidation factor, and Victor was a classic. There was a shocked hush as he walked up to the bar, he actually had to duck slightly to get under the beams in the low ceiling. He was wearing heavy black combat boots, the black flak jacket with the insignia of the Authority on the shoulders and a black webbing belt holding two modern automatic pistols with a double holster containing two short, silver tipped wooden stakes.

“These boys giving you any trouble Ma'am?” he asked quietly.

“No, not at all. In fact they were just leaving.” I explained as the three young vamps tried to edge inconspicuously past Victor and head for the door. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“Victor tells me there was some trouble the other night?” said Bill casually as we laid an old sheet over the carpet in the lounge. 

“No, not really!” I told him what had happened and he laughed.

“I see!” he said. “Well, I daresay you and Azaria could probably have handled them if Victor hadn't been there, but I still worry about you........I can't help it.”

I turned to smile at him. “I know......but most people don't have security guards following them around all the time Bill. And, let's face it, when I really needed them they couldn't help me because they were the first ones to be killed!”

Bill pulled me into his embrace. “I know” he whispered. “I know it's unreasonable but I have to know that you're as safe as I can make you. I know that I'm being foolish and overprotective but I just can't help it!” He placed two fingers under my chin and tilted my face up towards him. “Will you forgive me?” he asked.

“I understand, really I do!” I answered. “I'll do whatever you think is necessary. I don't want you to have to worry about me ever again.” I stood up on tiptoe and kissed him. “Now then, are we going to get some painting done?”

Bill eyed the wall suspiciously. “You know we could easily have got someone in to do this for us?” he asked.

“I want to do it! It's much more fun....” I was wearing an extremely old pair of cargo pants and a baggy T shirt with my hair tied up under a scarf. Bill watched with interest as I poured a tin of pale grey emulsion into the tray and handed him a roller. 

“Right! Watch me!” I rolled the sponge roller in the paint and began to roll it onto the wall. Bill soon got the hang of it and in a remarkably short time we had done three of the walls. 

I put the roller down and pushed back a few stray hairs with the back of my hand. “Okay! I think that wall should be a different colour, a feature wall. What do you think?”

“Where do you plan to hang your pair of paintings?” he asked. 

“Over there” I pointed. “The black frame and background will contrast nicely against the the grey wall.”

“Okay! What colour did you have in mind for the last wall.” 

I looked around the room. Grey carpet, pale grey walls......... “Red!” I said firmly.

Bill looked unimpressed. “Don't you think that's a bit.....clichéd. In the circumstances?” he asked.

“Oh I don't mean a blood red! I was thinking of something deeper........Burgundy!” I said decisively.

Bill gave me a look. “Are you sure? You wouldn't prefer Merlot? Or maybe a nice Pinot Noir?”

I gave him a smack on the backside. “Very funny! Burgundy......definitely!”

“Fine! But it'll have to wait for now. You, by the way, have just smeared paint on your nose.”

“Oh no! I haven't have I? I was being so careful!” I exclaimed crossly.

“Fail!” said Bill. He had taken his shirt off in case he got paint on it and I reached over and dabbed a smear on his chest. “Oh Alex!” he cried, looking down at himself.

I giggled. “It's emulsion, It'll wash off.”

“Right!” Bill picked up the empty tray and the rollers and put them in the sink in the kitchen to soak. He paused in the doorway and then began to advance determinedly on me. “So now there's only you to clean up!”

Before I could say a word he'd picked me up, thrown me over his shoulder and we were heading up the stairs and into the main bathroom.


	4. Chapter 4

Alex had been really keen to paint the lounge herself. Personally I’d have been happy to get someone in to redecorate over the weekend when we were back in Oxford, but she was so enthusiastic about it that I decided to humour her. After all, the apartment was, technically, hers since it was allocated to the Authority’s Librarian, although that didn’t seem to have occurred to her. Besides, she looked so cute wearing an old baggy T shirt and stained cargo pants with her hair twisted up in a scarf I had to struggle to keep my hands off her!

I carried old sheets, tins of paint and rollers in from the car under her direction and we spread the sheet out over the carpet to protect it.

I was surprised at how easy the sponge rollers were to use, much easier and smoother than brushes and in what seemed a very short time we stood back and admired our handiwork. We had painted three of the four walls and Alex had decided she wanted the fourth in a deep red as a feature. When she had returned from her shopping trip she had brought in a large package encased in bubble wrap which proved to be a pair of original abstract oil paintings in vivid swirling colours, on black canvas and in black frames which I had to admit were going to look stunning on the pale grey walls.

She brushed an escaped lock of hair back off her face and managed to smear paint on her nose. “Well, I think we’ve done a pretty good job there!” she said with some satisfaction. I pointed out the smear of paint and was rewarded with a smear of my own. I had already got paint on my hands and arms so I had taken off my shirt and ended up with a smear of paint across my chest. Well…..I’m not only her Maker, but the High Chancellor! I couldn’t be expected to put up with such blatant disrespect! I ditched the painting equipment, tossed her over my shoulder and headed for the bathroom.

The main bathroom contained a huge sunken whirlpool bath which I'd been looking forward to trying out ever since I first spotted it. I put Alex down and turned on the taps. As I turned back to her she stood up on tiptoe and kissed me, her soft lips pressing against mine as her hands moved to unfasten my belt. By the time we had removed each other's clothing, pausing every so often for another kiss, the bath was full and steam was rising gently, fogging the long mirror set into the wall above the sinks.

I picked Alex up in my arms and stepped carefully into the bath, sitting down and lowering her, equally carefully, into the hot water. I reached over and turned on the jets, feeling the sudden, hot pressure of the currents on my skin. Alex relaxed beside me sliding down into the swirling water with a sigh. 

“Mmm.......this is lovely!” she murmured.

I turned towards her. “Now then you wicked girl, I think you need to clean me up don't you?” 

Before she could answer me I leaned forward and pressed my lips against hers and she responded, crushing her mouth against me, parting her lips invitingly. I sank down deeper into the water and pulled her into my lap, her hands moving up to my shoulders to steady herself. She smiled at me and reached for a bottle of liquid soap standing on the edge of the bath. Kneeling astride my hips she carefully washed off the paint she'd smeared on my chest and then picked up my hand. I closed my eyes, concentrating on the sensation of her small hand on mine, her fingers rubbing gently over the palm and scrubbing off the smears of paint. I felt her fingers cleaning mine, rubbing gently over my wedding ring and realised that I found the gentle touch on the palms of my hands surprisingly erotic.

I opened my eyes to see her leaning over me, her long black hair falling around her face in damp waves. Pulling her down I kissed her deeply, my tongue sliding between her lips, feeling the tips of her small fangs just beginning to descend as I ran my hands down her back. Her skin felt silky under the water, and warm as it had absorbed the heat of the bath. I remembered sitting on the bench in Faery that terrible night, holding her limp body in my arms, thinking that I would never feel the warmth of her skin on mine again. I had been wrong about so many things but I knew that eventually I had made the right decision for both of us.

Her gentle ministrations were having their usual effect as I could feel myself hardening against her and she began to rub her warm flesh against me, sliding herself up and down until I felt I would explode. My head was thrown back over the edge of the bath as I finally grasped her hips, lifting her up and pushing myself into her welcoming warmth with a sigh. I felt her shudder as I entered her and then she began to wriggle, gripping my shoulders to brace herself as she rode me hard, driving herself down onto me until I felt her muscles clench around me and she cried out. I sat up at the moment of her release, pushing myself into her even deeper and she gave another cry as my fangs found her throat, the combination of the taste of her sweet blood and the squeezing of her flesh around me driving me to my own climax.

I clasped her body to mine for a moment and then relaxed, allowing her to slide off me with a little moan. My hands pulled her back towards me, positioning her in the water so that one of the jets pulsed between her legs. She sighed and leaned back against me shifting slightly into a better position. “Ohhh.......that's......interesting!” she whispered.

“You like that?” I asked softly. Before she could reply I slipped a hand down her back and felt my fingers push into the jet. I followed the flow of water until my fingers were gently brushing against her flesh and then ducked my head under the surface. I felt her push her legs apart as I kissed the inside of her thigh and began to move upwards. Soon my tongue was moving over her familiar flesh, warm and washed clean by the hot water and I found that I missed the taste of her. She began to wriggle but I held her down firmly and continued, ignoring her little cries until she shuddered again and climaxed in my arms.

I stood up and lifted her out of the bath, reaching for one of the enormous bath sheets she had bought which proved to be big enough to wrap around both of us. I carried her into the bedroom, sitting down on the bed and rubbing her body with the thick towel. She turned her face to me, her pupils huge and dark with arousal. 

“Make love to me Bill.......” she murmured.

Well, I didn't have to be asked twice! I pulled her down onto the thick quilt and swung my leg over her hips, leaning down to take one of her nipples between my lips, teasing it gently with my tongue until she was writhing underneath me and her knees were pushing against me trying desperately to spread her legs apart and rub herself against me.

“Now, now! No wriggling!” I breathed. “Just lie still and let me work......” I reached behind her for a pillow and eased it under the small of her back, raising her hips to just the right angle before releasing her. I bent forward and kissed her passionately sliding myself into her deeply as she moaned into my mouth and drew her knees up against my hips.

I began to move slowly within her, ignoring her pleas for more but gradually moving faster, harder and stronger for I no longer feared that I would hurt her. I knew that I would only give her greater pleasure. Our bond told me exactly what she was feeling and I could sense her pleasure rising in sweeping waves, her body contracting as it mounted and then receded, only to return moments later, fiercer and stronger. 

I was struggling to hold myself back as the sensation of the smooth silky skin of her inner thighs rubbed against my hips with each thrust until I felt her reach the edge and I let myself go feeling a wave of passion overwhelm us both.

Afterwards we lay tangled together in the huge bed, wrapped in Alex’s new crisp cotton sheets. Her dark head on my shoulder. I put my arm around her shoulders and ran my fingers gently down her arm.

“Well, dear. You were right as always!” I murmured sleepily.

She lifted her head and looked down at me. Leaning down she drew her tongue lazily over a tiny trail of blood from the two little puncture marks on my shoulder. “Right about what?” she asked.

“Getting in a decorator wouldn’t have been half so much fun!”


	5. Chapter 5

I was just beginning to get used to my new post although I felt that Ulrich still treated me with a touch of indulgence. He seemed to look on me as a precocious child. At least until one evening when we were talking in my office. It had taken a while for me to think of it as “my office” and I was sure everyone else still thought of it as “Alberic's office”. Suddenly there was a heavy thump from the hall outside and I thought for a second that someone had dropped something. Then I heard a scuffling noise, a muffled scream and a clatter of metal on the marble and I stood up and opened the door, looking out curiously.

The innermost hall of the great Library was about sixty feet long and lined with heavy oak bookshelves on one side and niches for scrolls on the other. There were four glass cases on wooden stands containing particularly rare items set in a wide square in the centre of the hall and in the centre of this square stood a massive black stallion with what appeared to be steam rising from his flanks and swirling around him. On his back sat a man in dull black armour covered with a great dark cloak. But the eye was drawn immediately to the great horned helmet he wore which covered his face so that only the deep red eyes could be seen.

The three young vampires who had been in the Library helping me were pressed up against the walls trying hard to look inconspicuous. I heard a gasp behind me as Ulrich peered over my shoulder into the hall.

Okay! I was in charge here, right! I walked out into the hall and stood in front of the apparition. “Good evening my Lord” I said politely. “What can I do for you?”

The red eyes regarded me for a moment. “You? You rule here now?” he asked “In place of the one who attempted to summon me.”

“Yes, although that wasn't my intention at the time.”

Somehow I got the impression that he didn't quite believe me. Still, he seemed impressed by the idea that I had used him to overthrow Alberic and take his place, so I didn't try to argue.

“This is the place where the Book of Flowers was hidden?” he asked, looking around.

“Well, for some of its time with us yes. This is where Bill found it.”

He stared down at me for a moment and I tried not to flinch under the gaze of those harsh, burning red eyes. “It has occurred to me to wonder what else you may have hidden away here which might be used against us.” He said.

“Oh!” I looked around at the shelves. “Well, I've no idea really! I'm not half way through the catalogue yet and there's a lot that Alberic never catalogued at all. I should imagine that would be quite interesting.”

A thought suddenly occurred to me and I held up a hand to him. “Just.......just hold on a sec.....”

I ran back into the office, pulled open a drawer and took out a book I had found in Alberic's personal collection. One I had been sure that I would find. I dashed back out again, past Ulrich who was standing just out of sight behind the office door, and held it up.

He regarded the book for a moment. “Is that what I think it is?” he asked. 

“Die Lieder der Erlköenig, The Songs of the Elfking.” I said. “I think this is where Alberic obtained the summoning incantation.”

The Erlking hissed and the horse threw up his head and stamped on the marble floor.

“This book has been my bane!” he growled. “Several centuries ago a man gathered these stories and put them in this book. He probably never knew that one was the incantation, but two hundred copies were made. Over the years I have tracked down and destroyed all but five!”

I tossed the book to the floor before the great horse's hooves. “All but four.” I said.

The great black horse stamped again and the book burst into flames burning with a clear blue light and then crumbling to dust.

The horned helmet lifted as the Erlking looked back at me.

“You may be sure that if I should discover anything else which may be........relevant to you, I will inform the Queen.” I promised.

The great head nodded to me in the same respectful gesture I had seen him use to Bill. “The Queen is correct. You are a worthy bearer of our blood.”

There was a slight flicker in his eyes and I thought, for just a moment, that the Erlking had winked at me! Then he and his mount were surrounded by that familiar blue flame and he was gone.

There was silence in the Library for a moment and then I heard Ulrich's voice from behind me. 

“What the fuck was that?” His voice sounded a little unsteady and I turned to see him standing in the doorway to my office, one hand on the door as if supporting himself.

I smiled to myself. “Oh he has many names Ulrich, depending on which particular folklore you favour.....Cernunnos the horned god, Herne the Hunter, the Erlking. He is the leader of the Wild Hunt.”

Ulrich's eyes widened. “You mean that......that thing.....killed Alberic?”

“Yes!”

“And you......commanded it?”

Well, that wasn't strictly true, but I had been the reason he was summoned after all, and I remembered what Bill had said about respect.

“Yes!” I said coolly.

Ulrich left a few moments later, still looking a little shaken. I smiled to myself and got up to look out into the hall where my three assistants were huddled together in a corner whispering. They all turned to stare at me and I found it interesting that it was the youngest, a bubbly blond named Maddie who had been turned about ten years earlier and had, in fact, been a librarian in life, who plucked up the courage to come over to me.

“Ummm…….who, or what, was that?” she asked hesitantly.

The others stood back a few steps watching me warily. Okay, it was fun to frighten vampires considerably older than myself but I reminded myself that I had to work with them…..

“Well….” I began. “You know that my husband, Chancellor Compton, has recently introduced Queen Mab to the Authority?” 

Their eyes widened slightly. “I’d heard that!” muttered the young man whose name I couldn’t recall. “But I thought it was just a rumour…..I mean come on?......a Faery Queen?”

The older woman, Sara, gave me a challenging stare. “My Maker told me that the Fae were extinct!” she pronounced flatly.

I smiled pleasantly back. “Well…..if you were being hunted by vampires I expect you’d want them to believe you were extinct, now wouldn’t you?” I asked reasonably. “I can assure you that they are not extinct. In fact, I have Fae blood myself as does my husband’s ward Azaria.”

Jaws dropped open at this pronouncement. “Actually you yourselves have just seen one of the Lords of Faery. That………gentleman was the Erlking, the leader of the Wild Hunt.”

There was a pause while they took this in. “And he knows you?” asked the young man in a hushed tone.

“Well I’d have thought that was obvious!” snapped Maddie briskly. “You just saw him having a conversation with her didn’t you?” She glanced over at me and began shooing the others down the hall. “Okay, come on, we’ve got work to do!”

I returned to the office and sat down. After a moment or two Maddie put her head round the door.

“You okay?” she asked.

“Yeah, sure. Come in for a minute would you?” I said. 

She stepped into the office and closed the door behind her, regarding me for a moment. “It won’t do you any harm you know!” she said. “Sara for one has been muttering about you being far too young to be put in charge of the Library….I’ll bet she’ll shut up now!”

“Oh I sincerely hope so!” I said. “Look Maddie, I need a friend here and you seem to know what you’re doing, the others are all obsessed with how Alberic used to do things. ‘Alberic wouldn’t have done that!’ ‘Alberic did it this way!’ They don’t seem to grasp that I don’t give a stuff what Alberic did or didn’t do! Personally I think Alberic was as crazy as a box of frogs and anything he approved of is probably not a good idea!”

Maddie sat down in the chair opposite me and began giggling. “They do, don’t they! Personally I always though he was a bit creepy even for a vampire!”

“Well I’m probably a little biased on the subject!” I said.

Her hands flew to her mouth. “Oh! I completely forgot…..I’m so sorry!”

I couldn’t help laughing. “It’s okay! Look, I need to practice and I know there’s loads of stuff that’s not even been catalogued yet. Can you suggest something I might start on?”

She sat back and thought for a moment. “You’re interested in Egypt aren’t you?” she asked. “I think I’ve seen something that might interest you.”

She led me down the hall and into one of the numerous storerooms, all of which appeared to be lined with unopened crates. They always reminded me of that scene at the end of “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and I had begun to wonder if I might actually find the Ark of the Covenant hidden somewhere…..

“I found this crate the other day” she said, brushing the dust off a wooden lid. “The record attached said that the contents had been removed from the library of a Temple complex in Thebes during the late Ptolomaic period. By that time there was no-one left alive who could read hieroglyphics and so the old scrolls were left gathering dust. They would probably have been destroyed eventually by the priests themselves if not by the invading Romans.”

She carefully lifted off the lid and I could see that the crate was full of papyrus scrolls. “Most of them seem to be open and are probably copies of prayers or lists of the temple’s property but I spotted this one.” 

She pulled a pair of thin cotton gloves from her pocket, reached into the crate and carefully withdrew a scroll. “Look” she turned it to show me the edge of the papyrus. “It’s still sealed! It’s never been opened!”

I stared at the scroll in awe. “But that could be thousands of years old! Do you really think I should open it?”

She held it out to me on her gloved hands. “You’re the Librarian! Mind you it’ll probably turn out to be a list of how many goats they owned or how many barrels of wine were in the cellars!”

I laughed and picked up a leather document tube from the corner of the storeroom. Maddie carefully slipped the scroll inside and I put the top on. “There you go! Some interesting bedtime reading for you!” she said with a smile.

It was getting late so we locked up and headed for the lifts, Maddie to pick up her car from the underground car park and me to head back to my new apartment. Bill was attending a late meeting so I pulled out a pair of cotton gloves to protect the papyrus, took a deep breath and carefully broke the seal. Curled up in a pile of pillows on the bed I settled down to read.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Egypt 1480 BC**

My name is Amanet and I belong to the Great God Sobek.

I was given to the temple when I was barely old enough to understand what was happening to me. 

My father was a fisherman who cast his nets into the great lakes and the many branches of the sacred river at Shedyet in the Nile delta. My brothers would accompany him in his reed boats, father to cast the nets and Amose or Belet to act as lookout to warn him of the approach of the great crocodiles.

As a child I supposed that, living such a life, he considered that the gift of his youngest daughter to the Crocodile-Headed God might influence Great Sobek to allow him to fish in relative safety. I preferred to believe this, that I was gifted as protection for him, rather than to accept the hard truth which was that, with five older brothers and four sisters, my father simply could not afford to keep me.

I was a bright child and eager to please and so I was taken under the wing of the Lady Busiris, the wife of the High Priest. She named me Satsobek, daughter of Sobek, but in my mind I was always Amanet, the name my mother had given me.

When I was ten years old Lord Kaemweset the High Priest moved from the delta to the Royal city of Thebes, taking his houshold with him and I was trained as a dancer and singer, one of the handmaidens of the God. 

Thebes was the greatest and richest city in the world. The buildings were large and white walled with open courtyards which filled every day with traders bargaining. Groups of white robed priests strolled through the complex of Temples escorted by groups of guards. Stalls selling freshly baked bread and crisp delicious strips of grilled meat, either Goose or antelope such as Ibex or Gazelle in spices, lined the wide roadways down to the quays from which flotillas of boats plied to and fro in between the great Temple Barges, poled by boatmen in simple white kilts and reed sandals.

I travelled only once with Lady Busiris across the Nile to the necropolis, a busy bustling place full of workshops making coffins and funerary equipment. We passed embalming shops full of steam and smoke, thick with the smell of corruption masked by the cloying spices and ointments used to pack the corpses of the dead.

The Temple of Sobek was close to the Nile but faced back to the city, the rear part of the ground containing a sacred lake connected to the river in which lived several crocodiles. The sprawling complex of buildings was surrounded by a high wall with guards stationed at the wide gates. At its centre was the broad sanctuary containing the statue of the God which was accessed through a hypostyle hall, its columns carved from faded red granite. Outside this lay the other buildings of the Temple complex such as the House of Silver, the treasury, The House of Life where scholars came to study and the House of Books, the great Library of scrolls where the kindly priests eventually gave in to my pestering and taught me to read and write. Each was surrounded by shady gardens planted with acacia and palm trees. The Temple also had its own vineyards and orchards watered by irrigation canals from both the river and the sacred lake.

It was a rich, powerful place, its House of Stores containing jewellry, gold, precious stones, incense and casks of sweet wine. But the most precious object in the Temple was shown to me by the High Priest on the day I came of age at fifteen years old.

He walked with me through the innermost chapels past the chantry priests murmuring their prayers to the God. “Hail to you who arose from the dark waters, lord of the lowlands, ruler of the river's edge!”

“There is something you must see little Satsobek” he told me as we entered the innermost chapel, the House of the God. “I have long believed you were sent to me for a purpose and only now has it become clear to me.”

We both bowed low before the statue of the God and then Lord Kaemweset reached behind the statue to a niche in the rock and pulled out a box carved from acacia wood. He opened the box and I gazed down at the contents in awe. The box was lined with black silk on which rested a long chain of thick gold links. This chain alone was worth more than any other treasure I had seen but hanging from the chain was the true treasure. It was a great ruby held in a network of gold wires. I had never seen anything quite so beautiful.

“This jewel is sacred to the God” he said. “It is known as the Heart of Eternity and is the most sacred object we possess.” He turned to me. “And you, little Satsobek must take it to safety.......”

I was shocked into silence. The previous year the Black Land of Egypt had been thrown into turmoil when the Great Pharoah Tuthmosis II had died suddenly and, since his son and heir was but a child of six years, power had been taken by his widow Queen Hatshepsut, backed by her Vizir Sennenmut. Her hold on the throne was somewhat precarious as while there were many who supported her, there were also those who did not. Now it appeared that others could not believe that the Power of Egypt could be wielded by a woman and Lord Kaemweset had received word that an army of the Mitanni had crossed the Sinai desert and now threatened our land.

“You mean to hide it from the Mitanni invaders? But surely they will never be allowed to reach Thebes! Pharoah's armies will beat them back!” I said.

“I wish I could be so sure! But I sit on her Majesty's council and I know that there are those who would happily side with the Mitanni if it enabled them to get rid of her!” he said softly.

I could hardly believe this. “But that is treason my Lord! For such a betrayal a man could be staked out to die in the burning sands of the Red Lands!”

“Only if they lose!” snorted Kaemweset. “If they win they will take power and no one will be able to touch them. But they will never take the Heart of Eternity!” he declared. “You must take this to safety!”

I backed away. “No please! I can't do this!”

“I have seen it in my dreams Satsobek” he said softly, pressing the gem into my hands. “You will take the Heart of Eternity south to a secret temple at the second cataract where you will place it in the keeping of the high priest. The Mitanni will never penetrate so far south and if the worst happens the rebels will never know where it has been hidden.”

I was just a child and I had been trained to obey him my whole life so I took the gem from his hands and placed it around my neck, hidden under my dress.

He smiled down at me. “You are a good girl and obedient. The God will reward you child.” 

It took nearly a full pass of the moon to travel to the second cataract. A barge had been provided by the Temple to take me and my precious burden south, although none but I knew what I carried. The captain was a short burly man named Intef and he asked no questions but seemed to assume that the dozen soldiers who accompanied me were provided simply because I was a favoured child of the High Priest. However as we neared the second cataract we began to hear troubling rumours. It seemed that the Mitanni were not the only ones who wished to take advantage of any weakness in our land. 

We had stopped to take on water and I stood on the deck watching Intef talking with one of the desert tribesmen. He glanced at me and I could see the worry in his eyes. As the man left he came over to me.

“Well, it seems we may just have time to visit your temple but you had better conduct your business quickly as we may not stay for long. It appears that Nubian warriors from the south have been seen in the area. Fortunately I've been told that the temple can be accessed from the river so we need not go ashore.” He walked away quickly and began calling out orders to the sailors.

The Temple was built into the cliff face, the entrance, a high doorway flanked by four columns the tops carved into the likeness of lotus flowers. At this time of year the entrance was above the level of the river but I knew that, during the time of inundation the Nile would rise high up the cliffs and pour in through the entrance. At this time the temple itself would become a sanctuary for the sacred crocodiles.

I walked inside to find a dark space, silent and empty. As I walked forward I heard a tiny noise at my feet as though I had shifted something metal. Looking down I saw a large gold coin and, in the light coming in through the open doors I could see others scattered across the stone flags. Evidently the crocodile priests had received warning of the advance of the Nubian army and had fled, taking what treasures they could carry with them. My gaze moved over the floor to an enormous pool. It was still and dark but I had seen similar pools before in other temples and I knew that there would be an underwater channel leading out to the river so that the crocodiles could enter and be fed by the priests. I resolved not to turn my back on the pool. I might be dedicated to Sobek but I was under no illusion that his protection would extend to saving me from his own creatures. 

Opposite the doorway was the statue of the God. I looked up, my breath catching in my throat as my eyes moved up the body. The lower part was the body of a man, one foot forward as though he were striding out of his temple. He was wearing a short kilt and was naked from the waist up, bearing a tall staff in one hand and the ankh symbol of life in the other. The God towered over me at least twice the height of a man, the upper torso, arms and shoulders so massively muscled as to make the head seem almost natural. The head was that of a crocodile, the creature sacred to Sobek, the snout of a mottled green marble jutting out into the chamber the long jagged teeth fierce and terrifying. On the head was carved the plumed headdress of Amun and the horned sun disc of Ra.

Glancing around I caught the gleam of gold from between the feet of the God and saw the golden sceptre of the High Priest lying discarded on the floor. It appeared that I had arrived too late. This temple, far from being a safe refuge as Lord Kaemweset had thought, might prove even more vulnerable than the one in Thebes. Only now did it occur to me that, since everyone else had fled the temple, I might be in danger myself particularly if I was discovered with the Heart of Eternity.

Just then I heard voices outside speaking some unknown language. The statue of the God was in shadow and I crept into the shelter of his massive legs and crouched in the shadows hardly daring to breathe. Looking out I saw several figures outside the entrance peering into the darkness where I lay hidden. I could hear the sounds of fighting outside and I guessed that the Nubians had attacked the boat containing my escort. I placed my hand on the stone thigh of the God and prayed that the soldiers would be able to beat them off, but I feared there would be too many.

It seemed that my fears were justified as a few minutes later the sounds ceased and several dark skinned Nubian soldiers re-appeared at the entrance. However they made no attempt to enter. It appeared that they feared the wrath of the God and just at that moment a cloud moved from in front of the sun and a beam of sunlight shone into the temple striking the snout of the statue. Two red stones set into the marble nostrils flared, reflecting a beam of red light forward towards the entrance. There was a panicked scuffling noise and the Nubian warriors vanished. It appeared that the God was watching over me after all. I cowered in the darkness, afraid to move until I heard a strange grating noise above me and then a rumbling as though the ground itself was shaking. I clung to the stone leg of the God and watched in horror as an avalanche of rocks and sand poured down the cliff face covering the entrance to the temple and leaving me in almost total darkness.

When the dust had settled there were just a few faint beams of light coming in from tiny cracks high up over the entrance. Just enough to enable me to see the smooth surface of the pool. Terror settled over me like a cloak as I realised that this was now the only way out.

I was a child of the Nile, I could swim before I could walk but I also knew that the priests used these pools to feed the sacred crocodiles. The great beasts had learned that anything thrown into the pool was food. I was confident that I could dive into the pool and swim out through the underwater channel but I was equally sure that I would not survive. Was this what the God had saved me for? To be food for his creatures?

As I moved I felt the great ruby shift under my dress and I wondered what would happen to me if I managed to escape the temple. I would be vulnerable to any band of desert wanderers who might happen apon me. The might keep me alive as a slave but they would almost certainly kill me if the found the Heart of Eternity! I could not possibly take it with me so I lifted the heavy gold chain from around my neck and hung it over the outstretched hand of the statue. I would leave the great ruby in the God's keeping.

I decided to explore the rest of the temple. I was sure that there would be no other way out but I had to look. I comforted myself with the thought that I had, at least, fulfilled Lord Kaemweset's instructions and secured the safety of the sacred stone. 

Some time later I returned and sat at the feet of the great statue to rest. There was no other way out except for a high air shaft towards the back of the temple whose height and smooth sides told me immediately that I would never be able to climb out. I thought that I might be able to attract the attention of someone outside but I had no wish to bring the Nubian warriors back here so I decided to wait as long as I could in the hope that they would have left the area. During my explorations I had found some supplies left behind by the priests. No food unfortunately, but several spare robes and a tinder box. I wrapped one of the robes around me for warmth and sat down to wait.

I think I waited for three, perhaps four days before I dared to make a move, judging the passage of time by the faint beams of light coming in through the cracks at dawn. I drank water from the pool, being careful to disturb the surface as little as possible until finally I realised that if I continued to do nothing, I would soon be too weak to help myself. I had arranged stones into a circle beneath the air shaft and I piled strips torn from the priests robes inside the ring of stones. Using the flint I drew a spark onto the cloth and watched as the thin trail of smoke was drawn up through the shaft. I could do nothing more but wait and hope.


	7. Chapter 7

I don't know how long I had lain there, curled up at the bottom of the air shaft when I was jolted awake by a rattling sound and looked up to see a few small stones bouncing down the wall. Someone was there! At the top of the shaft! I peered upwards and could just make out a face in the opening. But something wasn't right....I wasn't sure if I was getting so weak that my eyes were playing tricks on me. I saw a pair of large, soft, brown eyes framed by long lashes looking down at me curiously. But the face was too long and there were.........ears? Long floppy ears. It was a goat! It gave a bleat and moved suddenly as if it had been pushed out of the way and its long face was replaced by another, this time human. A young man with curly black hair was looking down at me with an astonished expression. The shocked look on his face was the last thing I remembered before I lapsed back into unconsciousness.

When I awoke again I was lying in a small wooden cot with a warm woollen blanket spread over me. I shifted slightly and a woman came and looked down at me. She was white haired and her face broke into a smile when she saw that I was awake.

“Well hello dear! How do you feel?” she asked, sitting down beside me.

I tried to answer her but my mouth was too dry and she picked up an earthenware cup and helped me to sit up. “Here, drink this......don't be afraid, it's only water.”

I gulped it down greedily but she wouldn't let me drink it all. “Not too much dear, you're very weak. Have you been hiding in the temple ever since the Nubians came?”

I nodded, unable to speak. “Well, you're safe now. You're lucky, that was the first day that Paneb felt it was safe to take the goats back there to graze. The Nubians still patrol regularly and they almost caught him. He had to sneak back at night with his father and some of his friends to get you out. I doubt he'll be going back there for a while.”

“Paneb?” I whispered.

She smiled. “He's my grandson” she said proudly. “He was the one who found you. Well, actually that was Lila the old nanny goat, he came looking for her and she'd discovered the entrance to the temple amongst the rocks. He and my two sons went back that night and they managed to lower him down on a rope. Between them they were able to drag you out but they dislodged the rocks at the top and the shaft is sealed off now, I hope you were alone in there?”

“Yes” I said. “Yes, I was alone.”

“You poor child....” she patted my cheek gently. “Let's get you something to eat shall we?”

I stayed with Paneb and his family for several weeks before I was strong enough to go with him on the ox cart into the nearest town. I had explained to them who I was and why I had been at the temple although I didn't speak of the Heart of Eternity and they had suggested that we send a message from the local temple to Lord Kaemweset at Thebes. I had hardly spoken to Paneb but he had always been there in the background, watching me. When I asked if I could join him he seemed shocked but readily agreed.

“I haven't had a chance to thank you” I said as we trundled along the rocky road down into the river valley. “I would have died there if it were not for you!” I leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.

He turned to me his eyes wide. “I nearly didn't come back” he said “I could hardly believe what I'd seen. I thought you were some spirit from the underworld come to lure me away!”

I laughed “I'm not surprised! I must have looked a sight.”

“Oh no......I.......I thought I must have been imagining it. You were the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen!”

I could think of absolutely nothing to say to this so we travelled the rest of the way in an uncomfortable silence. We arranged for a message to be sent to Thebes and then took the opportunity to wander through the little town, Paneb pointing things out to me and, after a while, he plucked up the courage to take my hand.

Over the next few weeks I grew to know Paneb better and he quickly got over his awe of me as he realised that I was no manifested spirit from the underworld but just a girl. He was a kind and gentle soul and I knew he worshipped me, I could see it in his eyes. I also knew that his mother thought I would make a good wife for him. But surely I should return to the Temple? I had promised my life to the God. Would he not be angry with me?

One morning I was helping him to milk the goats and I asked absently “I never asked you why you were there? Surely there must be better grazing for the goats nearer to the river? Were you afraid of the Nubians?”

“They didn't really bother us” he said. “But there was a reason. It was a crocodile.”

I stopped suddenly and turned to look at him. “A crocodile?”

“Yes” His voice was slightly muffled as he leaned on Lila's side. “I'd been going down to the river for about a week but every day as soon as I arrived an enormous crocodile would appear and haul itself up onto the bank next to the goats. It never attacked one but I was sure it was just sizing them up. It was huge! I've never seen a crocodile so big! I was convinced it was watching me and that it would take one of the goats as soon as I turned my back. So I gave up and decided to try up on the cliffs instead.”

I stared blankly into space until I was brought back to reality by the goat stamping impatiently on my foot. An enormous crocodile! I gave a sigh of relief as I suddenly knew that the God would forgive me. He was pleased with me! He himself had sent Paneb to find me........

It was only days later that we heard the pounding of hooves along the river road and looked out to see a squadron of chariots heading towards the little farmhouse. The Lord Kaemweset and the Lady Busiris jumped down from the lead chariot and the High Priest swept me up into his arms. 

“My little Satsobek!” He cried. “We thought you murdered by the enemy. When the Temple Barge did not return we lost all hope.....”

Paneb's mother and grandmother were thrown into a panic by this visit and rushed around offering cool drinks and seats in the shade until the Lady Busiris calmed them down and thanked them effusively for saving my life. It was she who explained that they had come to take me back to the Temple at Thebes.

My heart felt torn by this news. My life at the Temple was all I had ever really known but I realised that I didn't want to leave Paneb behind. However, I had no choice in the matter. We were to return to the town and meet the barge which had brought the High Priest and his wife from Thebes. I turned to Paneb to give him a gentle kiss on the cheek. 

“You will come back won't you?” he whispered. “I love you....my sweet Amanet...”

I fought back the tears as we rode in the chariots back to the barge and set off for Thebes. As soon as we were alone I told them everything that had happened, how I had left the Heart of Eternity in the keeping of the God and how I believed that the God had driven Paneb up onto the cliffs above the secret temple so that he would find me.

They glanced at each other. “What do you think my Lord?” she asked. “Was this boy meant to find her?”

Lord Kaemweset sat back thoughtfully and took a sip of wine. “It's possible” he answered. “Since the priests had ceased to feed the sacred crocodiles you would expect them to be hungrier than usual. A goat would make an easy meal.......and yet it never tried to take one?”

“Do you love him my dear?” asked Lady Busiris gently.

“I......yes I do. But he has nothing my Lady. His elder brothers will inherit the farm, would I be able to remain at the Temple?” I asked hesitantly.

“Well you could no longer be a dancing girl, not if you married him.” She smiled. “But the Temple is rich, we have flocks and herds of our own. Goats are very difficult creatures, stubborn and temperamental. A young man with experience of goats would have no difficulty finding work there!”

So I was released from my servitude at the Temple and Paneb and I were married by Kaemweset the High Priest who gave us his blessing.

We lived a long and happy life together but we never spoke again of my journey to the secret temple. I have written down my story so that when I pass into the west the sealed scroll will be lodged in the House of Books. Perhaps one day Great Pharaoh’s armies will sweep down to the second cataract and drive out the Nubian invaders. Then and only then will it be possible for someone to retrace my steps and retrieve the Heart of Eternity.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I sat, staring at the scroll, entranced by Amanet's story until I heard a footstep on the stairs and Bill opened the door. 

“So here you are! I wondered if you were still in the Library it was so quiet in here. Didn't you hear me come in?” he asked. “What on earth have you got there?”

I looked up at him. “Well.......it's a long story!” 

He smiled. “Bringing work home eh? That's the beginning of the end you know...... Why don't I go and get us a couple of drinks and I'll join you. You can tell me all about it?”

We cuddled up together in the big four poster bed with two glasses of warm Tru Blood as I told him Amanet's story.

“This scroll had never been opened before?” he asked curiously when I'd finished 

“No! I'm the first person ever to read her story.........isn't that awesome Bill?” I gazed up at him excitedly. “You realise what this means?” I asked.

Bill looked a little blank. “Well.......not really....”

“I've never heard of a Temple of Sobek further south than Kom Ombo. Most of his temples were in the Fayoum.......the Delta, and they date from a much later period. I've certainly never heard of a jewel like The Heart of Eternity. If the entrance to the temple was covered by a landslide and no-one has ever read this story then the temple might still be there, undiscovered! And the ruby might still be inside!”

Bill smiled indulgently. “Don't you think that's a little far fetched? After all there's been so much excavating in Egypt, especially recently......”

“But Bill, the area around the second cataract is underwater! It has been ever since the dam was built at Aswan in the 1960s. If no-one has discovered it before now then they're not likely to now!”

I put my arms around him and hugged him. “Still, you're right. The manuscript doesn't give any idea whereabouts the temple was and the second cataract covered quite a large area.... I guess we'll never know.”


	8. Chapter 8

It was some weeks later when Bill came back to the apartment one night and sat down on the sofa next to me with a drink. “There’s something I need to talk to you about” he said. 

“I know that you have retained the ability to use your Fae powers but I feel it’s time you learned to use some of ours. How do you feel about that? Do you think you’re coming to terms with what’s happened to you?”

He looked a little guilty as he said this and I knew he hadn’t really got over the trauma of the terrible decision he had to make.

“Well I’ve learned to read Latin and Egyptian hieroglyphics so far and I’m looking forward to Greek!” I answered cheerfully. “What else did you have in mind?”

“I was thinking about glamour” he said. “I would never have dreamed of using it on you when you were human but you understand what it is?”

Somehow I felt very uneasy about this. “I don't........I don't really think I want to do that Bill” I said. “Take away someone's memories? Force someone to do something they don't really want to do? That's not.........I don't want to do that.” 

I pulled away from him slightly, feeling stupidly stubborn.

He didn't move. Didn't try to pull me back. “I can understand that” he said patiently. “But it could be useful as well you know!”

“How?” I asked disbelievingly. “Messing with someone's mind can never be a good thing!”

“Well.......” he patted the cushion next to him and I wriggled back into his arms. “I had a meeting last week with a psychiatrist who works with a veterans' charity dealing with post traumatic stress disorder. I'd asked one of the Authority's researchers to look for someone suitable as this is something I've had in mind for a long time. Perhaps it's partly to do with my experiences in the army, but I also know a man, he's a descendant of mine actually, who had a bad experience in Iraq and has suffered terribly ever since.”

Bill sighed sadly. “In my day there was no understanding of stress or mental trauma. You either coped or you didn't and if you didn't you'd probably end up dead. Now at least there is some help, but counselling can go on for years before it begins to have any effect and it can only go so far. I've always wondered if there was something we could do to help. This psychiatrist believes that, in many cases, most of the trauma stems from a single incident. Now if we could remove the memory of just that one incident, glamour it away, then the subject would have a much better chance of coping with the rest of his problems on his own.”

Bill looked at me, his eyes full of questions. “What do you think? Wouldn't that be a worthwhile use of our talents?”

It had simply never occurred to me to wonder if glamour could be used for anything positive. I'd always simply thought of it as a means of hypnotising humans to bend them to the will of a vampire. As had most people I didn't doubt.

“Would that work?” I asked.

“I've no idea! But we're going to see if we can set up some trials. Dr Wilson thinks some of his patients would be prepared to volunteer.”

I looked up at him feeling guilty. “I'm sorry Bill!” I said.

“Whatever for?” he asked with a smile.

“I should have known you'd have a good reason. I should have trusted you to know what's best for me.”

He laughed. “Nonsense!” he said briskly. “I've no objection to you questioning me, I'd never try to make you do something you didn't want to do, you know that. But I do try to find ways to use our......skills.....to help others. Not through pure altruism either mind you. If we're going to integrate with humans things like this can only help our cause, and if it helps individuals as well, then all the better.”

I eyed him suspiciously. I was pretty sure he used this explanation on Ulrich but I was equally sure that it was the 'helping individuals' aspect that really appealed to him. The fact that he'd been thinking about it for a long time was the giveaway.

 

The next night I was packing up ready to leave when Maddie came into my office. I'd brought Amanet's scroll back to the Library and it had been filed away neatly, but not before I'd told Maddie the story Amanet had told. She had been fascinated and had assured me that she's keep a lookout for anything similar.

She'd been checking through some newly arrived boxes and there were smears of dust on her forehead as she opened the door. 

“Hey Alex! You said you were interested in the area around the second cataract?” she said. “Well I’ve found something else that might appeal to you.” She held out a small, battered, leather covered notebook held together with what looked suspiciously like an old bootlace.

I took it from her and blew off the dust. “Where on earth do we get all this stuff from?” I asked.

“Alberic had agents all over the world” she explained.

“Oh I know that! I’ve found lists of names and contact numbers on his computer!”

“Well they pick up stuff from auctions and house clearances, things like that. This was in a tin box of papers that came from the attic of an elderly lady living somewhere in Herefordshire. It appears to be a journal of a Major Castleton of the British Light Cavalry Regiment, presumably he was an ancestor of hers. It’s an account of his journey up the Nile and into the Sudan in 1884. He was part of the relief column sent to assist General Gordon who was besieged at Khartoum by the Mahdi's army.”

“Well it's the right area.......just about three thousand years out!”

Maddie's face fell. “Oh.....I didn't realise that.”

I laughed. “No please! I'd love to read it. I'm sure it'll be fascinating.”

I was fairly sure it wouldn't be but she'd been so helpful I didn't want to disappoint her. I slipped the journal into a plastic bag to protect it and put it in my handbag, we were heading back to the Mill House later and I thought I'd take it with me.

 

The next evening when Bill and I awoke we found Claire in the kitchen drinking coffee with Harry.

Claire was Ed's widow. I had only met her once before briefly and had excused myself, embarrassed at the thought that her husband had died because of me. I knew it was unreasonable. It hadn't been my fault, but I still felt uncomfortable and had kept out of the way on the other occasions she had visited so when Bill suggested we sit out in the garden with the boys I sighed gently to myself and followed them outside.

One of Harry's men was outside keeping an eye on Claire's two little blond boys who were chasing each other around the garden. Bill fetched a couple of garden chairs from the barn for us and at my suggestion Harry brought out a glass of wine for Claire and a Tru Blood for me. I had almost got used to this by now, Bill assuring me that it had been developed into something far better than the original had been.

We sat quietly together on the patio beside the garden door talking and watching Bill and the boys. Claire told me that every time they visited he would play with them, ball games on the lawn and games of cowboys and Indians in the orchard. He brought Oberon out of the stable and put them up on the high pommel of the saddle in front of him. We watched as he gave them rides around the fields, squealing with excitement.

“I don't blame him you know” she said suddenly.

She turned to me, “nor you either. It wasn't your fault, what happened to Ed, I know that. He doesn't have to do this.....”

I smiled to myself, feeling Bill's happiness through the bond. “Oh he's not doing it because he thinks he should believe me! He's enjoying himself!”

She watched me for a moment. “You can feel that?” she asked. “It must be wonderful, to be bound so tightly to someone you love.”

“Some things about this are wonderful......” I answered thoughtfully. “But you have to be sure you pick the right person!”

We watched as Bill picked up Sam, the younger boy, and swung him up onto his broad shoulders. Sam hung onto Bill's hair laughing excitedly. “Bill had children of his own you know” I said. “He lost his son Thomas to smallpox when he was about Sam's age. This was in 1868 but he's never forgotten the pain of losing him.”

Claire sat back in her chair and sighed. “Oh that's so sad. Losing Ed was bad enough but losing one of the boys would have been unbearable.” She reached for her wineglass and took a sip. “He enjoyed working here you know. He'd worked for the Authority for quite a while but he didn't really enjoy it. Some of the members that he worked for were.......well......” she gave me an apologetic look, “he always said they had no regard for humans, not even those who worked for them. But.......we had debts....you know how it is, we needed the money and they paid very well. But then Harry recruited him to work for Bill. Ed liked him from the start, he said he was different. I didn't really believe him, but he was right......”

“We're going to see that they're punished Claire, the men who shot him.” I said. “I've received notice of the court date as I'll have to give evidence.” 

“We never thought it would happen you know.” She replied. “That they would go on trial. The other guys talk to their wives and we all like a good gossip.....” she smiled at me. “You know how girls like to talk! They all thought that the Authority would just quietly get rid of them. It's been done before and no-one has ever found out what happened to them.”

So Ulrich's plan to execute the guilty Library guards hadn't been a one-off then. I'd tried to believe it was, but somehow his solution had been too smooth, too well prepared.

Bill walked over to us and sat down on the edge of the patio, the younger boy Sam in his lap and his brother sitting on the edge of the lawn next to them. 

“It must be well past your bedtime boys! I think it's time your mom took you home” he said.

He turned to Claire. “It's good of you to bring them but I mustn't let you keep them up too late.”

Sam stirred in his lap. “But we like visiting with you Uncle Bill” he murmured sleepily, laying his head on Bill's shoulder. Bill's face was a picture. His lips curled up into a little smile and his features seemed to soften as he cupped Sam's head gently in his hand.

“They do love coming here” said Claire. “But only at the weekends when you don't have school in the mornings! In the car now....” she shooed Tom, the older boy towards the yard and he climbed reluctantly into the car. 

I said goodbye as Bill carried the now sleeping Sam over to the car and slipped him into his seat. I returned to the house and curled up on the sofa while Bill chatted to the guards and I reached into my handbag and pulled out the journal.


	9. Chapter 9

I was outside with Claire and the security men for a little longer that I had anticipated but even so I didn't expect the reception I got from Alex when I returned.

I walked in through the kitchen door and into the wide hallway where Alex was curled up on one of the sofas and she immediately jumped up and flung herself at me.

“Bill! Bill, you'll never guess what Maddie's found!” she cried, practically dancing with excitement. 

She held out a dusty little leather covered book. I had to admit that I'd never seen anything quite so uninteresting in my life! Librarians seem to have a completely different view of things......

I picked her up in my arms and sat down with a sigh. “All right.....I'll go for it. What is it?”

She settled into my lap with a happy smile. “Okay....quick background history lesson! In 1883 the British Army was ordered to withdraw from Sudan, largely because they didn't want to be involved in the suppression of the rebellion by Mohammed Ahmed, known as “The Mahdi”. The British government asked General Gordon, former Governor General of Sudan, to go to Khartoum and aid in the evacuation of Egyptian soldiers, civilian employees and their families. As the military situation deteriorated in the Sudan, Britain withdrew its troops until Khartoum was the last outpost remaining under British control. Gordon defied the order from the British government to withdraw and began the defence of Khartoum. In March 1884, the Mahdi's army laid siege to the city and in August 1884, the British government decided to send a relief force to Khartoum.”

She tapped the little notebook. “This is the journal of Major Harry Castleton who was part of that relief force. They travelled by boat from Alexandria up the Nile to Aswan and on past the first cataract, hauling the boats up the rapids and through the narrow defiles in the river by hand. According to him they reached the second cataract in mid-November. Now of course the river in 1884 was much the same as it had been in ancient times and ran through a narrow passage between the cliffs, just as Amanet described. Unfortunately the relief column were being tracked by the Mahdi's soldiers and one day when Major Castleton was overseeing the work from the clifftop, two of his soldiers were killed while on guard duty. One took a bullet to the chest and the other was shot through the upper thigh and bled to death. Castleton was himself a sharpshooter and managed to kill the sniper on the opposite cliff and so they were able to move the bodies in safety.

They intended to bury them on the clifftop but they had to find somewhere they could dig down deep enough as the desert was full of scavengers, jackals and hyenas...... He says that they found a good spot and began to dig a grave. Well, they got down nearly six feet before they discovered that they weren't the first to bury something there. They unearthed two bodies, wrapped in linen strips in the classic criss-cross pattern of Ancient Egypt.”

“They uncovered mummies?” I asked, beginning to understand her interest in this story.

“Two mummies, but Bill........they weren't human! They were crocodiles!”

Well I certainly hadn't expected that! “Crocodiles?” I asked, mystified. “Mummified crocodiles?”

“Yes! The Egyptians mummified many sacred animals. Thousands have been found, crocodiles, cats, ibis, baboons...... but, although lots of mummified crocodiles have been found, they've all been in the Delta. None have ever been found so far south.”

She gazed at me, her eyes alight with excitement. “You realise what this means Bill! Those crocodiles must have been buried beside the temple. There's no other explanation!”

Well I had to admit that Amanet's story was looking a lot more plausible. “But you still don't know exactly where it was though do you?” I asked.

She smiled. “I'm surprised at you Bill, you an ex-Army man! Major Castleton was a professional! He gave map references” she tapped the notebook again. “Latitude and longitude. The exact spot!”

I smiled to myself feeling her infectious excitement through the blood bond. “Well then Mrs Compton, Librarian and Curator of the Vampire’s Authority’s Museum, what are you going to do now?” 

She stopped, her small hands resting on my chest. “Oh……I don’t know. Can we do anything? Could we go and look for it? She thought for a moment. “Wait……that whole area is underwater now though. It was flooded when they built the Aswan Dam. 

Her excitement began to fade a little and I took her hands in mine. “The entrance must be at least halfway down the cliff” she said thoughtfully. “Amanet said it was covered by rubble. That must be right or it would have been found before now. Major Castleton and his men would surely have seen the entrance. He was interested in antiquities. That’s why he mentioned the mummies in his journal, he’d visited temples in Upper Egypt so he’d know what he was looking at.”

I sat down on the sofa pulling her into my lap. She was talking almost to herself now, working out her theory. “The only way in would be through the channel that was used by the crocodiles and that was underwater even in Amanet’s time.” She sighed. “Well……we’d need a dive team, with oxygen and safety equipment….it would have to be quite a big operation.”

She stopped and looked up at me. “You’re laughing at me! I can feel it!”

She was right! I was! “You’re so young my sweet! You still think like a human. You have to start thinking like a vampire!”

She frowned. “What, march in and help ourselves you mean! Is that what Alberic would have done?”

“Now that’s unfair sweetheart! You know I don’t think like that, and that wasn’t what I meant at all.” I smiled down at her. “We could do this ourselves, just the two of us. You can swim can’t you?”

She stared at me, clearly puzzled. “So how long can you hold your breath?” I asked.

My smile broadened as I saw understanding dawn on her face. “But I don’t need…….oh! …oh Bill, you mean we could…..”

I had to laugh at the excitement in her eyes. “You are vampire now my love! You have not only the ability but also the strength and endurance to do far more than you could as a human. We could swim down the cliff, find the entrance to the channel and swim in. Check the place out…..then if you want to pass the information about the temple’s location to the authorities, that would be up to you!”

Of course it didn’t turn out to be quite as simple as that. I felt that it was only courteous to inform the Cairo nest that we would be in the country and, since I sent the information as High Chancellor of the Authority, the Head vampire was only too happy to accommodate us. He immediately offered an invitation for Alex and I to visit and stay for a few nights. I accepted as I felt it would be good for Alex to meet other vampires, particularly from a very different culture. Besides I knew she loved Egypt and I happened to know that Theophanes, the head of the Cairo nest was very old. Then it occurred to me that the ideal person to accompany us, in case of any problems with the local vampires, or even the human authorities, would be Berenice. As the daughter of a Pharaoh she was afforded almost divine reverence by all Egyptians, vampire and human, particularly those in the Antiquities Service. The fact that I knew that her new lover, Omar, lived with the Cairo nest meant that I had no doubts about her accepting the invitation!

As I was composing an e-mail, thanking Theophanes for his invitation, my office door opened and Lilith walked in. She saw what I was doing and came round behind me, looking over my shoulder at the screen.

“I’m sure I’ve explained the concept of privacy before Lily” I said mildly.

She flung herself into my armchair with a sigh. “I’m sorry William but I’m bored! I need something more interesting to do!”

I sat back and looked over at her for a moment. “Well okay…..if Ulrich doesn’t have any plans for you in the next week or so, how would you like a trip to Egypt? Berenice could introduce you to her friends in Cairo……..”

She sat up looking immediately interested. “Egypt! You’re going to Egypt?”

“Would you like to come with us?” I asked smiling at her obvious enthusiasm.

Her dark eyes took on a faraway expression. “I haven’t been back there for so long. It must be thousands of years since I was there in the flesh.” Her eyes suddenly snapped back into focus. “I’d like to see the Shrine again. I know they’ve brought the statue and the furnishings to London but still…….”

“I’m sure Berenice would be happy to go with you. We’ll be staying in Cairo for a couple of nights and then heading up the Nile. You could stop off at Luxor and we’ll meet you there later.”

She eyed me curiously. “So where are you and Alex off to then?”

“Suppose I tell you when we get back – if it works out?” I said.

She narrowed her eyes and I could see a hint of red appearing in them. “So now I need to have…..patience, right?”

I had to laugh. “Very good Lily! Patience……”


	10. Chapter 10

When Bill advised the head of the Cairo vampires that Lilith and Berenice would be accompanying us a flurry of e-mails arrived offering extra accommodation, tours of the area, rare bottled bloods, a supply of human donors, pretty well anything we could have wanted. Within a few hours arrangements had been made to fly us out to Alexandria where a fleet of cars would meet us and bring us to Cairo.

Bill had even managed to organise a couple of wetsuits for us.

“Do we need those?” I’d asked. “It’s not as if we feel the cold after all.”

“It’s not the cold you need to worry about. If we’re going to be swimming through a narrow, rocky passage you’ll want to protect your skin. I know we’ll heal quickly but you really don’t want blood in the water……especially if there are crocodiles around!”

“Do you think we’ll see any?” I asked, wondering if this was a good idea after all.

“I rather doubt it actually, but I’m strong and fast enough to deal with a crocodile, and heaven help any that try to get near you. I’ll be keeping a sharp eye on you!”

I had offered to pack for both of us and I was nearly finished when I reached into a drawer for an extra pair of socks for Bill and my fingers caught on something. I pulled it out thinking it was the end of a tie but it kept on coming. It was made of scarlet silk and I recognised it as our binding ribbon. I pulled it out and stood there with it trailing over my hands. He'd kept it! Rolled it up carefully and kept it in the back of his drawer under his socks. I felt a surge of love for him which almost overwhelmed me for a moment. Then I carefully rolled it back up and replaced it. I suspected that he’d be embarrassed if he knew I’d found it, bless him.

I picked out a few smart outfits as well as my usual T shirts and jeans and a dark suit with a pale grey pinstripe for Bill as I guessed we'd be meeting some influential vampires since we were travelling with a Goddess and a Pharaoh's daughter. How my life had changed in the last few years! I absentmindedly pulled out a straw hat, thinking that I'd need it to protect me from the hot desert sun........

I stood holding the hat for a moment as my old life came flooding back to me. Summer days in the park, running on the beach, lying in a garden chair in the sun. Somehow my old straw hat seemed to symbolise everything I had lost. Then I shoved it back on the shelf firmly. I'd take it with me to the cottage in faery, at least I got to see the sun there, which is more than any other vampire could say. I really wasn't so badly off at all......

I turned sharply back to the case and caught the edge of the dresser with my hip. There was a cut glass bottle of expensive perfume which Bill had bought me for my birthday on the edge of the dresser and I saw it begin to fall out of the corner of my eye. Suddenly everything seemed to slow down as I reached out a hand and caught the falling bottle before it was half way to the floor. I stood holding it for a moment and then carefully put it back on the dresser. Wow! That was fast! Bill was right, I hadn't really appreciated my new abilities. I resolved to think less about my old life and more about the new.

We were due to fly out to Alexandria the following night and just before dawn everything was packed and ready to go. Except possibly me. I'd travelled with Bill so many times.......seen him climb into one of Anubis' travel pods and complained about having to travel on buses and planes by myself while he slept, but now it came to it, I discovered that the idea of getting into one of the pods myself made me extremely uneasy.

Bill came over an put an arm around me. “Are you okay sweetheart?” he asked.

“Yes! Yes, fine.” I said brightly.

“You're not fine......you're trembling! I can feel it.” He looked down at me, his blue eyes full of concern. “What is it?”

I sighed. “Well......I'm not too keen on those pods to tell you the truth. I don't know why, it's not as if I've ever been claustrophobic.”

“Oh! I see. Well. Let's just see how you get on shall we?” He gave me an enigmatic little smile

I was just about to ask what he meant when we heard the sound of an engine and the van from Anubis pulled up in the yard. I watched as two men manhandled a pod through the front door into the hallway. I had a second to wonder why they seemed to be having so much trouble with it before I saw the reason for myself. It was nearly twice the size of the usual ones.

“They've made these things bigger?” I asked, looking over their shoulders for the second pod. The men made no move to go back to the van and both looked at Bill as if they expected him to explain.

“Well, there is only one” he said. “It's for both of us......”

He went over to the pod and opened the lid so I could peer inside. The interior was comfortably padded and certainly big enough for both of us.

“You ordered a double?” I asked.

Bill looked quite surprised. “Well of course! You are my wife after all. Now that you are vampire we will be travelling together.” His lip curled a little in a tiny smirk. “You didn't think I was going to miss out on hours of good cuddling time did you?”

He gave me a playful slap on the bottom. “Don't hang about woman, get in!”

I saw Harry pick up our bags and take them out to the van then Bill picked me up and laid me down carefully in the pod. It was surprisingly comfortable. “Are you okay?” he asked.

I smiled up at him. “I'll be fine with you to keep me company!”

There was a blur and I felt the pod shift on the stand and suddenly Bill was lying beside me. He reached up and pulled the lid closed, snapping the locking mechanism shut. To my surprise the interior of the pod had subdued lighting set into the lid. Bill ran his fingers over a panel on the side and the light dimmed a little. 

“That's better” he whispered, leaning over to kiss me. “I must just get this.....” He fiddled with something in his ear and I saw that it was a bluetooth earpiece, presumably connecting with Harry who was accompanying us. I felt myself drifting into sleep as the sun rose but with Bill's arms around me I felt safe and secure.

The flight to Alexandria was only four hours or so but what with driving to the airport, checking in and loading and unloading, Bill and I woke just as we were being taken through into the VIP lounge. I felt Bill's hand leave my waist and move over the panel on the side of the pod, brightening the lights.

“Did you sleep well?” he asked.

“Mmm....it's very comfortable actually isn't it?” I murmured, stretching against him.

There was a slight crackling noise and Bill listened for a moment. “Right......thanks, Harry!” he said and reached for the release catch.

I looked up at the bright recessed lights on the ceiling and blinked. Then Bill was out of the pod and reaching in for my hand to help me out. We were in a pleasantly furnished lounge with a small bar on one wall and Harry and two armed security guards beside the doors. There were two more pods on stands alongside us and as I climbed carefully out the second opened and Berenice got out, a mobile phone pressed to her ear. 

“Yes! We've just landed in Alexandria, we'll be with you in an hour or so......I've got the remote so we'll be able to enter when we arrive.”

The third pod opened and Lilith stepped out her eyes alight with excitement. “We drive to Cairo?” she asked Bill. “I'll be able to see some of the city! Everything is so different.”

In a remarkably short space of time we were installed in a large black car which looked as if it had been liberated from some Eastern European Secret Service and were driving along the coast road from the airport into Alexandria itself. Harry had evidently asked the driver to show us some of the sights as we drove along the eastern harbour looking out to the Citadel which had been built on the site of the Great Lighthouse, the Pharos of Alexandria, which had been one of the wonders of the Ancient World.

We then headed through the old city, and south towards Cairo. I was gazing, entranced, out of the window, taking in the sights when I noticed the large number of cats on the streets. They were everywhere, lounging on the tops of walls, sidling down alleys. Sitting on windowsills looking out at the passing traffic with a casual interest. I remembered reading that Alexandria had been known for its cats in ancient times. The old district of Rhakotis particularly, so I wasn't too surprised until I spotted one that appeared to be watching us.

We had stopped at a traffic light and I noticed a small black cat with bright green eyes observing us with its head on one side. There were so many that I hardly noticed it at first but then something caught my eye and I looked back. The cat had a gold ring through one ear! I thought this odd as surely someone prepared to pay for an earring for their cat would have a collar on it too? I glanced out of the rear window to see it staring after us with a curious intensity. Sitting back against the leather cushions I turned my attention to the conversation going on in the car.


	11. Chapter 11

Bill was asking Berenice if she had told Omar about the requirements for our trip south. 

“Yes, he says everything's arranged. He wants to know how you want to travel though? He says he can arrange for a helicopter to take us to Luxor and then to take you on to Aswan, or we could travel by boat? They have a cruiser with a secure crew, both vampire and human, who could take us down the Nile....” Her face relaxed into a reminicent expression. “That used to be the only way to travel any distance in Egypt in the old days.”

“Would you like that?” asked Bill.

“Oh yes! I would....if that's okay?” she turned to Lilith. “Omar also asked if he could accompany us to the Shrine. He'd heard of it but his maker never took him there and he'd love to see it.”

Lilith took her hand. “Of course! If it's what you want. He's very welcome to join us. You spent so long as guardian of the Shrine, it's about time you had some fun!”

Very soon we were driving out of the suburbs of Cairo towards Giza. The car pulled up on the edge of the plateau amongst the cheap, tacky souvenir shops and the second car containing Harry and his two men pulled up behind us. 

Berenice stepped out of the car and turned to Harry. “You can't come any further I'm afraid Harry. You've been booked rooms at the Hotel over there....” she gestured to the Mena Palace Hotel, on the other side of the road. “We'll be fine from here, don't worry!”

Harry looked at Bill who gave him a tiny nod of acknowledgement and he turned to walk across to the hotel with his men. He looked back once over his shoulder and Bill nodded again, as the cars moved off.

Once we were alone Berenice headed across the plateux towards the three great pyramids and then turned towards the rocky pathway that led to the Great Sphinx. She led us up to the paws of the Sphinx and turned to the left walking down the left side until we came to the point where the front leg of the great beast lay alongside the body. As we walked along the body towards the rear paw she stopped and took out what looked like a small radio transmitter. She held it up and pointed it towards the rear paw and the tail of the Sphinx. We all stared at the area where nothing was happening until she gave a little laugh and turned and pointed behind us.

To our astonishment a dark doorway had appeared in the crook of the creature's elbow and Berenice stepped inside, gesturing to us to follow her. We crowded into a small stone room and Berenice pointed the device back at the doorway which began to close. I gripped Bill's hand tightly as the darkness began to close in around us but then, as the outer door closed, another larger door began to open before us. Two enormous stone blocks rolled back revealing a wide stairway going down lined with metal braziers, each with a flame burning in them lighting the way down the stairs and into an enormous cavern like space. The steps must have descended about twenty feet and the space was floored with great stone flags, the ceiling supported by two rows of enormous granite columns each about five feet across, their capitals formed into the spread leaves of lotus and acanthus flowers. 

Opposite the staircase was a pair of tall wooden doors highlighted with gold leaf with a pair of ancient stone statues flanking the doorway. I looked around in awe as we walked down the wide steps. The flickering light from the braziers gave the impression that we had gone back in time, especially as the paintings on the walls were still sharp and clear. 

“This is very old Bill” I whispered. 

“Yes!” He was looking around, just as fascinated as I was. “I’d heard rumours of this but I wasn’t sure whether to believe it or not. Apparently vampires have lived in these chambers for thousands of years.”

“But how is that possible?” I asked. “Up until the early 1900s the Sphinx was covered up to its neck in sand. How could they get in or out?”

Berenice turned to me. “There are many other entrances around the Giza plateau. The Sphinx has been covered and uncovered several times during its long existence. My Maker told me that it was covered with sand before the reign of the Pharaoh Tuthmosis IV who fell asleep beside it while hunting and dreamed that he would be King of both Upper and Lower Egypt if he uncovered it.”

As we spoke the great doors at the far end of the chamber opened and a group of people came through. Berenice smiled and I saw that, in the lead, was a handsome dark haired vampire who held out his hands to her and kissed her tenderly on the cheek. Then he and the others bowed low to Lilith who smiled down at them.

Berenice turned to Bill. “William, you remember Omar?”

“Of course! It's nice to meet you again.” 

“Welcome to Cairo. It’s a pleasure to have you stay with us my Lady. If you’ll come with us we’ll show you to your rooms.”

He took Berenice’s hand and led us across the great chamber. 

“Is there somewhere where I could make a telephone call or use a computer Omar?” asked Bill. “I need to contact the Authority in London somehow.”

Omar glanced back at us “Oh that’s okay, you can use a tablet in your room. We have wi-fi!”

He looked at Bill’s face and laughed. “Come on man! We’re living in the twenty first century now! The entrance chamber is awesome and impresses visitors, but you couldn’t live in it!”

By this time we had passed through the massive double doors into an equally massive corridor lined with columns each lit with one of the iron braziers. Omar pushed open a side door and led us into a large comfortable, modern lounge which looked like something out of a five star hotel. There was even a long bar down one side of the room with neon lighting around glass cabinets containing every variety of blood you could imagine.

I giggled. “All mod cons!” I whispered to Bill.

“So it would appear!” he answered with a smile.

Omar showed us a suite of rooms set aside for us and one for Lilith with an adjoining lounge area. I assumed that Berenice was staying with him. One of the other vampires who had offered to carry our bags brought them in, bowed low to Lilith and left.

“I think I’d like to take a little walk around outside if that’s okay with you?” asked Bill. I’ve been cooped up in that pod all day and then stuck in a car, I need to stretch my legs a little. Besides I’d like to take a look around.”

“I’ll come with you” said Lilith.

Bill looked over at me questioningly. “Sure, I’d like to take a look around too. But how will we get back in?”

“Berenice gave me the…..whatever it is…” He held up a little electronic device that looked like a garage door opener. “I guess she’ll be staying with Omar.”

So we walked back through the lounge area and opened the door onto the ancient corridor. The contrast when we opened the door was striking, we went from modern comfortable decoration and recessed electric lighting into a long passageway built of huge stone blocks, lined with columns and lit by braziers. We passed through the great wooden doors into the enormous entrance hall and I gazed up at the ceiling painted with stars to resemble the night sky.

“This must have been some kind of mortuary temple” I whispered to Bill. “It had to have been built at the same time as the Sphinx, or even before. There’s a whole necropolis of tombs around the main pyramids so there must have been workshops, coffin builders, embalmers, all kinds of people working here long before vampires moved in.”

“Omar says the whole plateau is honeycombed with secret passages and chambers, they even have a library!” He smiled at me. “You’ll have to take a look.”

“How on earth have they managed to keep this a secret?” I asked.

“It’s not been easy. Theophanes wants to talk with Lilith and me later. Apparently he believes that this complex can’t remain hidden for much longer. People have been talking about hidden chambers beneath the Giza plateau for decades and now they have things like ground penetrating radar to back them up. He thinks that he and his people will have to go public and he wants the backing of the Authority.”

“I’m sure we will back them. My people should not have to hide in the shadows!” said Lilith firmly.

Bill gave me a glance which told me plainly that he didn’t think it would be so simple, but he said nothing. We had left the shadow of the great Sphinx and strolled along the processional way towards Khufu’s great Pyramid. Close up it was unimaginably huge, far bigger than you would think from looking at a photograph. A full moon hung in the sky behind it, the pale moonlight gleaming on the smooth capstone. A few spotlights were lighting up the main sites which were included in the Son et Lumière presentations but it was sufficiently late for all the tourists to have gone home long ago.

We strolled around the main pyramid complex and back towards the Sphinx. Heading back it was noticeable how close the edge of the city was and I spotted a couple of feral cats hunting at the edge of the plateau so I wasn’t at first surprised to see a small black cat sitting on one of the ancient walls before the Sphinx. Not until we approached and I got a better look at it.

“That's odd!” I said, walking a little closer.

“What is?” asked Bill, turning to see what I was looking at.

“I'm sure I saw that same cat in Alexandria.” I explained.

“How on earth can you tell?” asked Bill.

“It's wearing an earring? There can't be that many cats around wearing jewellery!”

As I spoke the little cat jumped down from the wall and strolled casually over to us. Then, to our surprise it stood up on its hind legs and carried on growing. There was a blur like a heat haze in the air for a moment and then suddenly I was looking at a woman.


	12. Chapter 12

Well……..no, not exactly a woman. The creature standing before us had a woman’s body, tall and slender and draped in a long figure hugging dress of a shimmering bronze coloured material. A wide gold collar inlaid with gemstones, enamel and Lapis Lazuli covered her shoulders and a girdle in a similar pattern was slung around her hips. But the real shock lay above the collar. She had the head of a great black cat. With a sense of unreality I noticed that the gold hoop was still in her ear.

The little cat we had seen had looked like an ordinary domestic cat but this was the head of something more like a jaguar. The eyes were bright green with the distinctive vertical pupils of a cat and startlingly outlined with a gold line extending outwards towards the ears in the ancient Egyptian fashion. Her long, slim bare arms were decorated with two heavy gold cuffs. The arms themselves appeared dark and, on closer inspection I saw that her skin was in fact covered in a layer of short black fur.

The great green eyes ignored Bill and me and fastened on Lilith. She moved towards her and slunk around her in a circle, examining her from every angle. I’d never actually seen anyone slink before, but there was simply no other word suitable to describe the way she moved. As she turned I noticed a long black tail trailing out behind her, the tip twitching occasionally.

“Why Lilith!” she purred. “It’s been a long, long time…..”

Lilith turned to face her. “Bast! I’m rather surprised to see that you’re still around. Surely no-one actually worships cats any more do they?” she asked curiously.

“Oh, they certainly do. Humans don’t seem to realise it but indeed they do! Millions of people all over the world keep my people as pets. They feed them, care for them, love them. They buy them special beds and little fluffy toys…… it’s not the worship we were used to but it’s more than enough! And then there are the shifters and werecats, they still remember me.” 

She reached out a hand covered with fur and trailed a long finger tipped with a sharp retractable claw gently down Lilith’s arm. “Nice body. Who’d you steal it from?”

“I didn’t steal it actually” replied Lilith coldly “Someone had already stolen it. I just took it from the thief….. So, what happened to the rest of your gang? Are they still around?”

“Some are, depending on which aspect of them could hold on to some form of worship. Those who are related to the sun, Ra, Amun, Aten are doing really well, thousands of people travel to hot countries regularly to worship them.” 

“What about your……husband, partner, whatever you call him? Anubis?” asked Lilith.

“Oh he is not what he was I’m afraid” said Bast, sounding suspiciously pleased. “People rarely seem to think about the dead now. Present company excepted of course! Although in fact I believe he’s getting quite a bit of power from some of your children, in his capacity as Guardian of the Dead…..”

Lilith gave a very unladylike snort. “We’ll see about that!” she snapped.

Bast’s lip curled in what might have been a smile, revealing her sharp, white, pointed teeth. “Anyone particular you were interested in?” 

Lilith glanced over at me. “Sobek?” I asked.

Bast gave a little sigh. “Crocodile priests are a little thin on the ground these days I’m afraid. Much of Sobek’s worship was based on fear and nowadays people try to destroy the things they fear rather than attempting to appease them with sacrifice as they once did. And of course the building of the great dam at Aswan means that there are no longer any crocodiles in the Egyptian Nile.”

“So what happened to him?” I asked, unable to stop myself. My thirst for knowledge was really going to get me into trouble one day!

Bast eyed me for a moment and then decided to answer my question. “As with all the ancient gods, without worshippers, without belief, they weaken gradually until they are unable to manifest themselves, once that happens, well they just fade away. I, myself have taken on some of the aspects of several other goddesses, notably Isis and Hathor…… love, medicine, music…..”

Bill gave a little chuckle. “Nice! Sex and drugs and rock and roll!” he murmured. 

I kicked him in the ankle but it was too late, the green eyes turned to him and looked him over with a lazy approval. “Hmmm! You always could pick the cute ones” she purred, moving towards us. 

Lilith’s hand shot out and barred her way. “Hold it right there kitty!” she growled. “He’s spoken for!”

The long tail twitched angrily and I noticed her claws slide out. “And that should concern me because…….?” she hissed softly.

“Because he has some powerful protection Bast!” growled Lilith. “Not only myself but the Queen of Air and Darkness! His wife is part Fae and is also under the protection of Queen Mab.”

“Oh my! A Faery Queen as backup, you're slipping dear. I assure you, if I were in your position I wouldn't share him with anyone!”

Lilith stood her ground between Bast and Bill who was watching this exchange, wide-eyed with surprise. “I think it's time you left, although it's been delightful to see you again my dear” she murmured insincerely.

Bast turned away, her tail still twitching gently. As she strolled around the end of the wall I saw her glance casually back over her shoulder at Bill.

“I think perhaps we'd better be getting back” he suggested quietly.

Lily stretched her shoulders. “Well, I’m going to change and then get myself a drink from that bar!” she said. “Will you join me?”

“I’ll join you” I answered. “I’m quite hungry actually.

“I think I need a shower” said Bill. “I’ll join you later.”

We headed back inside and Lily left to go back to her suite and change, leaving us alone in our room. I found I was shaking a little. 

“Bill? Did we just meet an Egyptian Goddess?” I whispered.

“Yes.....I think we did!” he answered. 

I sat down suddenly on the edge of the bed. “What did she mean about Sobek? She seemed to imply that he's no longer......here?”

“Lily tried to explain this to me” said Bill thoughtfully. “According to her, Gods are sustained by belief........ by worship. Without it they fade away until they are just....a voice in the wind, driven out into the deep desert.” Bill sat down beside me. “I think it was what she feared most, what they all fear. They destroyed her body but she still existed as long as we believed in her. She said she could even hear our prayers. Not specifically, individual prayers, but just as an itch in the back of her mind.”

“So at least some of the old Gods still exist somewhere?” I said wonderingly.

“It would seem so!”

I sat quietly for a while, thinking about this, then I got up. “Do you mind if I go and have a look around Bill?” I asked. “I’ll meet you in the bar later.”

“Sure! You’ll be safe here” he answered. 

A question occurred to me and I turned back. “Bill? Why do they all live here together do you think? Vampires don’t do that in Europe or the States, so why here?”

Bill thought for a moment. “I suspect it’s because there’s safety in numbers” he said. “There’s obviously plenty of space here and vampires have always been more at risk in countries occupied by fundamentalists of any religion. Even after the Revelation we cannot live openly in many eastern countries as we can in the west.”

I left Bill to his shower and wandered out back towards the bar where a young man with long dark hair and olive skin was pouring a shot of vodka into a glass and topping it up with blood from a large bottle. He looked up and saw me. “Hi honey! Can I get you a drink?” he asked.

“Not just now thanks” I said with a smile. “I’ll be back in a minute, I’m meeting my husband.”

“I’ll look forward to it…..” I felt his eyes on me as I slipped out into the main corridor. I walked along for a while examining the ancient relief carvings along the walls, my fingers trailing over images of Pharaohs and Gods, wondering what had happened to them. Were they still around somewhere, holding on to a few worshippers? I decided this was all to deep for me just now. I tucked it away into the back of my mind, something to think about later, then headed back to the bar. Just as I got there I realised that I had left my handbag on the bed and I set off back to the suite with a sigh.


	13. Chapter 13

I stood under the hot shower feeling the tension in my muscles relax. I had my head under the water when I thought I heard a tiny noise in the bedroom. I stood still and listened........nothing. Perhaps Alex had come back for something. I carried on washing my hair, then rinsed out the soap and stepped out of the shower. Picking up a towel, I began rubbing my hair dry and walked out of the bathroom to get my clothes.

As soon as I set foot outside the bathroom I knew there was something wrong. I pulled the towel off my hair, looked around and froze. A figure lay on her side on the bed watching me with a hungry expression. She was propped up on one elbow, the other hand trailing over her hip. She looked quite relaxed and her eyes ran over my naked body with a definite interest. It was Bast. 

I whipped the towel around my hips and her feline face took on a sulky expression. “Now why on earth would you want to cover yourself up sweetie. You're the nicest thing I've seen in a while........”

“How on earth did you get in........” I tried to look over at the door but found I was quite unable to tear my eyes away from her. 

She swung her legs over the side of the bed and stared at me, her head on one side. 

I started to back away. “Now look. I don't wish to offend you but I have a wife!”

She stood up and and stepped towards me giving a little shrug of her elegant shoulders, making the dress shimmer in the light of the lamps. “Well...........I won't tell her, if you don't.....” she purred softly.

Her breath smelt sweet and perfumed and I leaned forward slightly, inhaling the scent and I suddenly wondered what her soft fur would feel like against my lips. She rubbed the side of her head against my bare shoulder in such a cat-like gesture that I blinked. What was wrong with me? I couldn't believe that I was contemplating kissing a cat!

She stepped back and reached up to her shoulders. With a flick of her fingers she unfastened two ties at her neckline and the slinky bronze dress slid to the floor where it lay in a glistening pool at her feet. She stood before me, one hip thrust forwards and I felt my mouth go dry and a familiar warmth curling in my belly. Her entire body was covered in soft black fur and I could think of absolutely nothing but how it would feel to rub my bare skin against it. The grip of my fingers slackened and the towel slid to the floor unnoticed.

I felt her eyes move down my naked body and felt a purely selfish pride in the little hiss of appreciation she gave.

Suddenly I felt fur under my hand and realised that I had reached forward and run my hand down the soft fur on her belly. I hadn't even realised that I had moved but the soft smooth touch of her fur was somehow incredibly arousing and I slid my hand down to the dark mound between her legs. She moved closer, her soft fingertips running over my skin and, after a moment, I felt the needle sharp claws slide out a little. I hissed at the pain as her claws drew red trails down my chest.

Her lip curled up in a snarl revealing long sharp fangs, bigger even than my own. I stared at them, entranced, wondering how it would feel to have them slide into my throat, to feel her soft lips close around them. One hand moved to mine and began to stroke my fingers and I was suddenly aware of a scraping sound as her claws moved over something on my finger, metal, a ring..........with a shock I recognised it as my wedding ring. 

I backed away, struggling against a fog of desire and just at that moment the door opened and Alex walked in.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

I stood in the doorway, frozen. I simply couldn’t believe my eyes! Bill stood beside the wall, a towel dropped carelessly over his bare feet while in front of him was………Bast’s cat head turned to examine me and then dismissed me as unimportant and turned back to my husband.

Bill’s eyes flicked over to me for a moment then, to my horror, he turned back to her as if he couldn’t tear his eyes away.

I backed out of the door in shock and stood in the corridor for a moment, surely he’d fling the door open and apologise, offer some sort of explanation? When nothing happened my shock turned to a furious anger. Were vampires not enough for him now? I wondered, as I stalked down the corridor back to the bar. He’d moved on to Goddesses! I stopped suddenly as a thought struck me. What about Lilith? It was his idea that she should accompany us after all. She'd been so quick to warn the cat Goddess off her territory. I thought about all those late night meetings at the Authority while I was ensconced in my office at the Library. No wonder he’d been so keen for me to take the job! And the apartment! What a fool I’d been!

I walked up to the bar in a daze. The attractive young barman turned to me. “Husband still not with you honey? What kind of idiot is he to leave you on your own!” 

I forced a smile. “You don’t know the half of it.........! What's your name?”

He leaned forward with his elbows on the bar and gave me a big smile, his even white teeth and long fangs looking even whiter against the smooth dark skin. I noticed that he had a strange symbol tattooed on his left cheekbone which did nothing to detract fom his rakish charm. In fact, I decided it only enhanced it.

“My name is Raphael but you, honey..........you can call me Rafi!” he said softly, running his tongue over the tips of his fangs.

“Well Rafi, did I see you putting vodka in Tru Blood earlier?” I asked.

“Sure!” He grinned at me. “Not that I’m trying to get you drunk or anything…..”

He reached for a tall glass and poured in a generous shot of vodka then topped it up with a warmed Tru Blood.

“There you go honey! A genuine Bloody Mary!”

I picked up the glass and knocked back half of it in one gulp. Whoa! The vodka packed quite a punch! I had heard that vampires sometimes put alcohol in TB for an extra kick but Bill never did and I hadn’t tried it before. I climbed onto a stool, picked up the glass and drained it. Rafi watching me with some interest. 

I put the glass down. “Give me another one!” 

“Are you sure about this honey?” he asked doubtfully.

“Sure I’m sure!” I said firmly. Anything to wipe that image from my mind. My husband, standing beside our bed stark naked with another woman………well…….female….. She’d had a hand on his shoulder and there were bloody stripes down his chest from her claws. I picked up the glass and took another swig just as I felt someone come up beside me and sit on the next stool.

“Is he still not here? What the devil’s he doing?” asked Lily impatiently.

“At the moment, I neither know nor care!” I snapped.

She turned to me with a puzzled expression. “Alexandra? Whatever’s the matter?”

“Well that wasn’t quite true.” I admitted. “Actually I’ve a pretty good idea what he’s doing. He’s back in our room……with another woman!”

She stared at me her mouth open. “William? Are you sure?”

I slammed the glass down on the bar so hard I was rather surprised that it didn't break. “Am I sure? What kind of idiotic question is that?” I hissed. “You think perhaps I might not have recognised him!”

“I mean are you sure that.....about what was going on?” she whispered, glancing around.

“He was standing with his back to the wall, stark naked and with a massive erection! I don't think we need Sherlock Holmes to help us deduce what was going on, do you?”

“I just seems so unlikely!” she said looking honestly confused. “I know he adores you Alexandra, I know that better than anyone.....I was him, I know exactly what he felt for you.....and still does! I just can't imagine that he would.........” her voice trailed off for a moment. “Just a minute! Who exactly was he with?” she asked, her voice laced with suspicion.

I snorted angrily. “Your furry friend with the earring! Catwoman!”

Understanding dawned on Lily's face closely followed by a fierce anger. “I knew it!” she hissed. “That sneaky, devious little bitch! I warned her to keep her grubby paws off him!”

She stood up. “Come on. You can rescue William. I'll deal with her!”

“Somehow I didn't get the impression he wanted to be rescued.....” My own anger was starting to fade and a wave of sadness and loss began to wash over me. 

Lily reached over and put a hand on either side of my face. “Oh he'll want to be rescued all right!” she said firmly. I tried to pull away but it was like my head was being held in a vice.

“Listen, Alex......you mustn't blame him for this. Bast is a Goddess. What's more, she's taken on the attributes of a sex Goddess. No human male has ever been able to resist her and vampires have a much higher sex drive than humans and will therefore be far more susceptible! She uses some kind of pheromone which seems to make men lose all their inhibitions, they're helpless to refuse her.......poor dears,” she rolled her eyes. “I know her. She'll screw anything that moves.” She paused for a moment. “In fact, even if it didn't move she'd probably give it a try.......come on!”


	14. Chapter 14

“Are you sure about this?” I asked, hurrying after her. But even as I asked the question I knew she was right. That wasn’t Bill…..the man who’d carefully wrapped up our binding ribbon and hidden it in his sock drawer would never do that to me. He loved me, I knew that. I’d just been blinded by shock and anger.

But however angry I had been it didn’t compare to Lily! She was practically incandescent! It seemed that she considered Bast as a rival whereas I had attained the status of a friend. She stepped up to the door of our room and flung up both her hands. There was a tearing sound and a crash and the door ripped off its hinges and burst inwards. I peered around her, to see Bill lying flat on his back on the bed with what appeared to be a great black cat crouched over him, her tail twitching gently. He had one hand on her shoulder as though he were trying to hold her off. He was clearly aroused but his eyes looked blank and dead.

Her head whipped round as the pieces of the ruined door crashed to the floor but Lily was faster, she grabbed Bast by the scruff of the neck, tore her off Bill and flung her across the room. She hit the wall hard and slid to the floor where she crouched for a moment on all fours and hissed angrily at Lily. I stared at this apparition. The body was clearly that of a woman but covered in short black fur, her full breasts tipped with smooth dark nipples. However she looked anything but human now. Lily took a step towards her and suddenly the air blurred and a small black cat shot out of the room and raced down the corridor with Lily in pursuit.

I decided that I could leave Lily to deal with her and turned to the bed where Bill was still lying on his back. “Bill?” I sat down on the edge of the bed. “Bill? Are you okay?”

He turned his head and looked at me vaguely. His pupils were so huge that his eyes looked black. “Alex?” he asked hesitantly. “Is that you?”

His muscular chest was marred with streaks of blood from scratches that were already healing. 

“I guess your new girlfriend likes it rough huh?” I muttered.

“Alex!” Bill tried to sit up but appeared too dizzy. He struggled into a sitting position and reached for me. “Alex…..please……I don’t know what happened……”

“I do!” I said.

“Really I don’t…….what?” he was totally confused, bless him. 

“She drugged you Bill!” I explained. “Lily says she uses some form of sex pheromone.”

“Drugged……” he repeated, his brow furrowed in concentration. I had to admit I’d rarely seen anyone looking more drugged than he did. He blinked at me and I saw a rim of blue begin to appear in his eyes. He smelt....different. A sweet, almost cloying scent hung about him, on his skin and in his hair. As I inhaled it I felt a heat beginning to build up inside me and I leaned forward without thinking and kissed him, hard.

His arms clamped reflexively around my waist and he pulled me onto his lap running his hands up my legs and pushing my skirt up around my hips. He raised himself up shakily to his knees and pulled me closer, his long fingers curling around my buttocks.

I felt a powerful surge of desire flood through me and I lowered my head and began to lick at the streaks of blood Bast's claws had left on his chest. His head fell back and I heard the click of his fangs dropping. I knew that the lust I felt was largely due to the remnants of the pheromone left behind by the sex Goddess but enough of it was my own that I didn't care. I slid my hand down Bill's belly and grasped his hard manhood in my hand as I felt him bend his head to nuzzle at the back of my neck.

I stroked him firmly and moved my head to whisper in his ear. “Judging by this I guess you didn't.......”

“No......no.....” he murmured. “But I wanted to, Alex......I'm so sorry.......”

“Don't be sorry! It wasn't you.....not really.” I curled my tongue around his ear and pierced the lobe with my fangs. As I sucked gently he lifted me up and positioned me over his hips. I felt his hand move between my legs and rip away the scrap of lace that was all that lay between us. I reached up and gripped his shoulders as I lowered myself onto him, his hands grasping my hips. I felt the muscles in his thighs flexing as he thrust upwards into me, burying his face between my breasts. Wrapping my legs around his waist, supported by his strong arms, I held on to him tightly as he murmured unnecessary apologies, his lips nuzzling against the thin fabric of my shirt.

“Bill” I whispered. “Just shut up and hold me.....” 

I felt him sigh and his arms tightened around my hips, pulling me closer as he braced himself on his knees and began to work himself deeper inside me. He raised his head, his lips trailing up my throat searching blindly for my mouth as I reached forward to meet him. Our kiss was electric. As his lips touched mine I felt my whole body light up, my skin feeling as though it was on fire.

I knew that he no longer worried that he would hurt me, no longer had to force himself to hold back as he had when I was human. I had loved him for it, for his gentleness, his care of me. But now I was glad that he was able to let himself go completely, that he could fully enjoy the pleasure he got from my body. 

At first I had thought that the remnants of Bast's influence would make him want to simply use me for his pleasure, and I was quite happy for him to do that. But he was obviously fighting against the savage lust her pheromone had induced in him and after a few minutes he seemed to gain control of himself and slowed down, his hands releasing my hips, leaving bruises in my flesh where his fingers had dug into me and began to move them over me more gently. He played with my body like some kind of musical instrument until I was begging him for more, swept with great waves of approaching pleasure, but never quite going that extra step over the edge. 

He knew exactly what I was feeling, knew the level of my arousal, just as I knew his and the link we had through the blood bond not only multiplied our pleasure in each other but enabled him to hold himself back just enough so that when the waves of shattering bliss finally flooded over me, I knew he was there with me, his explosive climax driving me even further into ecstasy.

We sat, locked together and gazed into each other's eyes. Bill's were now clear and bright. “So are we okay then, you forgive me?” he smiled hopefully. 

“There's nothing to forgive you for. I felt the effects myself. It wasn't your fault!”

“I.......I knew it was wrong, but I couldn't seem to do anything......I couldn't stop myself.” He lowered his head, suddenly ashamed to meet my eyes. “Something inside me, the monster.....wanted it to happen. I didn't want to stop myself!”

“But you did!” I whispered to him. “I saw you, you were trying to hold her off. You did what most vampires never do........would never even think of doing. You faced up to that monster inside you, and you fought back.”

He looked up at me, his brilliant blue eyes full of guilt and pain. “I don't deserve you!” 

I smiled down at him. “Sure you do! Just stay away from any cat headed Goddesses from now on okay?”

He gave me a weak little smile. “I'll bear that in mind.......by the way, was that Lily I saw?” he asked.

“She went after Bast.” I said.

“I wonder if she caught her” he said thoughtfully.

“Now why would you want to know that?”

“We could keep that little cat caged up somewhere.......” he leaned forward and kissed me gently, the last traces of Bast's pheromone dissipating into the air as he breathed in the final hints of the sweet scent from my hair. “If we could bottle this stuff we could make a fortune!”


	15. Chapter 15

I looked around and realised to my horror that the broken door still lay on the floor and the room was open to the corridor outside.

“Bill! The door's wide open!” I tugged ineffectually at my skirt, laughing. “You need to go and get some clothes on before Lily gets back!”

He lifted me and stood up, holding me easily in his arms. “You wait here. I wont be a moment.” He put me down gently on the bed, picked up his clothes and strolled casually, naked, into the bathroom.

Just as he closed the door Lily appeared in the broken doorway. She was alone.

“She got away?” I asked, surprised.

“This place is a rabbit warren and she seems to know it well. But she won't be back in a hurry I can assure you of that!”

I sat on the edge of the bed and looked up at her. “I owe you my thanks Lily” I said. A little stiffly I admit, but I felt it had to be said.

She looked surprised. “Whatever for?” she asked.

“For explaining to me about Bast. How she.......”

“Oh that!” she smiled. “ Well I wouldn't want to see poor William blamed for something he couldn't help!”

I screwed up my courage and put a hand on her arm. We had become quite friendly during the trip but this had to be faced sooner or later. “I know how fond you are of him Lily. You could have just kept quiet and let me continue being mad at him.”

She looked at me with those big dark eyes and said nothing for a moment. Then she sighed. “I know he's fond of me, but he doesn't love me Alex, and he never will. I don't think he'll ever love anyone like he loves you. I'll admit that I have thought of trying to take him away from you but somehow.......”

She paused, obviously struggling to express a concept that was alien to her. “I think.......I think I would rather he was happy with you, than unhappy with me.”

I couldn't help myself! I just put my arms around her and hugged her. There was just a vague thought in the back of my mind that I was hugging a Goddess but I ignored it and she didn't seem to mind.

“Oh Lily!” I said “That's love!.......that's what real love is.....caring more for the other person than for yourself. Oh Lily, he'd be so proud of you!”

She stiffened immediately. “Don't you dare tell him!”

“Don't worry, I won't.” I said reassuringly and I felt her relax.

“I only feel this way about you and William you know that!” she said. “And maybe Berenice........I wouldn't want people to think I'm going soft!”

“Oh I don't think anyone would ever imagine that Lily.” I laughed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I dressed hurriedly and emerged from the bathroom to find Lily and Alex sitting on the edge of the bed talking. 

“Hello Lily” I said, feeling more than a little ashamed of myself. “I owe you my thanks for getting rid of Bast. If you hadn’t arrived…….” I stopped, as I didn’t like to think of what might have happened had she not arrived.

She smiled. “Don’t think for a moment that I would let some other Goddess get her hands on you William. You are too valuable to me, I need you.”

I laughed. “I’m sure I’m not that important!” I said.

She stared at me seriously. “You always take it very lightly when I say that William, as if you don’t really believe me but I mean it. When you and Alex disappeared into Faery that time I was panic stricken! I can’t talk to anyone else the way I talk to you William.” She looked down at her hands and I was quite concerned at her worried expression.

I went over and sat down beside her. “You know you can always talk to me Lily, but anyone else would be happy to advise you too.”

“I can’t ask them for advice! They look up to me too much, they worship me! I can’t have them thinking that I’m vulnerable in any way, surely you can see that?”

“Yes” I answered “I can see that. But there’s something else worrying you isn’t there? Something specific?”

“She looked up at me. “I need to ask you something….I…….”

Alex stood up. “Um….I’ll just go and get myself another drink shall I?”

Rather to my surprise Lily put a hand out and stopped her. “No, stay Alex……please?”

I was getting seriously worried now. This wasn’t like her at all. “Whatever’s the matter Lily?” I asked.

“I have……feelings……that I don’t understand!” she said slowly. “I’m not used to this….I feel…..” she stopped and looked up at me. “I’m sorry for what I did to you William. I know I caused you pain and brought nothing but trouble into your life. But at the same time I’m glad it happened because it’s worked out so well. I can’t imagine there being a better outcome for me. But how can I feel two different and opposite emotions about the same thing, at the same time? How is that possible? Is there something wrong with me?”

I forced myself not to laugh but I couldn’t help smiling. “Ah! Conflicting feelings! Well, that’s not as unusual as you might think actually.”

I reached over and took her hand. “You remember when I told you that you would change? That being in this world would change you? You were horrified, furious with me, but I was right wasn’t I? Interacting with other people does change you, and it changes the other people too. Any action you take in this world is like throwing a pebble into a pool, the ripples flow out in all directions. Your actions will have multiple consequences, some good and some bad, so you can be pleased about the good ones and sorry about the bad ones at the same time.”

I cast about for an example. “Take Alex for example! When she was turned our vampire friends didn’t quite know what to say to her. They had conflicting emotions. They thought that her turning was a good thing as she was now one of us but they also knew that to become vampire she had to die which, to her, was obviously a terrible thing. Or my own actions in dealing with the Book of Flowers. I thought I was doing the right thing in returning it to Queen Mab. I was pleased with the result, my actions enhanced her trust in me, but Alberic was so incensed by my actions that two good men died as a result and I came so close to losing Alex that I can’t bear to think about it even now!”

Lily nodded slowly. “Yes, I see……so I’m not going mad?”

I took both her hands in mine. “No, of course not! I’ll tell you what I think is happening” I said thoughtfully. “I think that the fact that you have a human, or rather a vampire body, is changing the way you think. For thousands of years you had no form at all, you were a disembodied spirit but now you’re finding that your new form shapes your thoughts and emotions.”

She gazed back at me, clearly considering this new idea. “It’s a good thing Lily” I said earnestly. “If you are to rule over us you must be able to understand us, and to understand us you must know how we feel.”

“But I can’t even understand how I feel!” she said, rather desperately.

I gripped her hands tighter. “I’ll help you Lily. You needn’t worry that anyone will think less of you. I would never contradict you publicly or try to advise you in Council, I never have, have I?”

“No, you never have and I appreciate that.” 

“You can always ask me anything Lily. Just consult me in private and none of the Council need ever know.”


	16. Chapter 16

The next night Bill was scheduled to have a meeting with Theophanes, and Berenice and Lilith were to go with him. Berenice had arranged for someone to escort me to the Library while they were gone and I had assumed that it would be Omar. So I got quite a surprise when she walked in with Rafi!

“Alexandra, this is Raphael.......he will escort you to the Library” she said.

Rafi gave me a conspiratorial smile before taking my hand and kissing it in a somewhat flamboyant manner. Bill watched him warily. 

“Ah! Thank you, that's very kind.....”

Bill put a hand on my arm. “We'll come to the Library to pick you up when we're finished. Is that okay?” he asked.

I gave him a bright smile. “That's fine!”

We parted at the door of our suite and Rafi led me down a brightly lit corridor and then turned off down a broad flight of stone steps heading to a deeper area of the network of chambers.

I couldn't help wondering if he had overheard my conversation with Lily the previous evening but I didn't dare ask, so for a while we walked in silence.

“So.......was that your husband?” he asked, when it became obvious that I wasn't going to initiate a conversation. 

“Yes. That was Bill.....High Chancellor Compton. He's my husband and also my Maker.”

I was attempting to warn him off but he simply looked shocked. “He made you marry him?” he asked.

“No! No, it wasn't like that! He asked me and I agreed.......besides I wasn't vampire then.”

If anything, Rafi looked even more horrified. “He turned his wife! Did he have your permission?”

“Well not exactly but......” I stopped and turned to look at him. “Why am I trying to explain our relationship to you? It's none of your business!” 

“Perhaps I'd like to make it my business” he said in a low voice. “This is the man who was in your rooms last night with another woman?”

Damn! He had overheard! “No! No, that was just........a misunderstanding.” I began to walk on but he put out a hand and stopped me. “He doesn't deserve you” he said quietly.

“Funny! That's exactly what he said.” I began to walk down the corridor and Rafi was forced to hurry to catch me up. 

We walked the rest of the way in silence until we reached a pair of great bronze doors. Two ancient statues stood on either side of the doors, carved from a pale granite. The figures were each of a muscular man wearing a broad collar around his neck and a short kilt, each with one foot forward and holding a staff in one hand. The only aberration was that each had the head of an Ibis. He was Thoth, the God of wisdom and knowledge, inventor of the ancient Egyptian form of writing with Hieroglyphics. Rafi strode past them without a second glance and pushed open one of the doors. 

I followed him into a chamber which was a strange mixture of ancient and modern. The walls were built of the same enormous stone blocks I had seen in the older parts of the complex but the lighting was clearly modern. To one side of the chamber was a large wooden desk with a modern anglepoise lamp on one side at which sat a man who stood up and came over to us as we entered. He was tall and thin and was wearing a long, pleated linen robe gathered at his waist with a twisted cord. His head was completely bald and his pale eyes looked out over a long, hooked nose. Somehow he radiated an aura of great age......indeed he looked as though he could have stepped out from one of the paintings on the wall of a tomb or temple.

“Alexandra, this is Rahotep, our Librarian. He's been here practically forever......” He turned to Rahotep. “This is Alexandra Compton. She's the wife of the High Chancellor. I trust you'll have a pleasant time!” He grinned at me as if he was sure that I'd be bored beyond belief and left.

I turned to see Rahotep watching me with his head on one side. 

“Mrs Compton!” he said. “So you are the new Librarian for the Authority? You seem very young for a such a responsibility?”

“Well, perhaps they thought it was time for some new ideas!” I said. 

He held out a hand to me. “Come! Let me show you around.”

We walked for about half an hour through halls lined with wooden frames stacked with scrolls. Everything here seemed to be written on papyrus, there were no modern style, bound books. Through casual questioning I discovered that Rahotep had been a minor priest of the Sun God Ra and had learned to read and write in the House of Life at the Temple in Thebes. A quick mental calculation told me that he was one of the oldest vampires I had ever met, having been turned about two thousand years before the birth of Christ. However, his great age did not seem to have made him complacent as it did many vampires since he took the opportunity to ask me numerous questions about my life and my travels around the world.

Eventually we returned to the main chamber again and he led me over to the huge desk and unrolled a papyrus scroll which he had picked up on our travels. “What do you think of this?” he asked.

It was written in Hieratic, the shorthand version of Hieroglyphics used by the scribes and priests of Ancient Egypt. I sighed. He was testing me and I had failed at the first hurdle! 

“Ah.....well!” I was now really embarrassed. “I'm afraid I can't read hieratic script yet.....” I admitted.

He gave me a shocked look. “And yet you are in charge of the Library?”

Okay, well now was as good a time to learn as any..... I sat down and took a sheet of paper, dipped Rahotep's reed pen into the ink and carefully wrote out the symbols of the hieroglyphic alphabet.

He leaned down to examine it. “Very impressive for one so young!” he said, sounding quite surprised. “But this....” he pointed out a symbol “.....should be longer. And this one.......” 

He took the pen from my hand and made a few slight corrections.

“Will you show me the hieratic symbols that match these?” I asked. 

He took the pen and wrote a new symbol under each of the hieroglyphics that I had written. I stared down at them fascinated. They were smaller and easier to write but you could see the links to the original symbols which were far more detailed and complex. As in our modern alphabet the originals had a complexity which had been simply slimmed down to make an easier form. The letter A was a good example. Originally it had been “Aleph” and symbolised by the head of a bull. If you turned the letter upside down you could still see the triangular head of the bull surmounted by a pair of horns.

I examined the letters for a few minutes and then turned the scroll so that I could see the writing. 

“It's a curse!” I exclaimed as I began to read “The devourers of souls will snatch you all. You will be caught in the net which catches the dead. You shall fail the test before Osiris in the Hall of Truth.”

Rahotep's mouth had dropped open in surprise. “You cannot have seen this scroll before!” he said. 

I smiled to myself. “I have a.......talent for languages.”

“I see!” Understanding dawned in his pale eyes. “A useful talent indeed for a Librarian!”

He pulled over another elaborately carved chair and sat down beside me. “Your husband is not with you?” he asked.

“He has a meeting with Theophanes” I explained. “He'll come and fetch me when they've finished.”

“Ah! That explains why Raphael brought you here.” he said.

I smiled gently. “You don't approve?” 

“I'm only surprised that he could remember the way!” he answered. “He seems only interested in the new, machines, electronic devices anything like that.” He paused and glanced at me. “But I suppose you don't see that as such a disadvantage?”

“You don't seem to me to have a problem with modern inventions” I said boldly.

“Indeed I do not” he answered. “But the old ways are of interest to me as well. Raphael does not believe that they are of any use to us in this new world we live in.”

“What's with the tattoo on his cheek?” I asked.

“It is an ancient sign worn by the old Pharaohs' personal guard, the Medjai.”

I sat back in surprise. “But he's not that old surely? He certainly doesn't seem so!” I asked, confused.

He laughed. “Oh no! He isn't!” He looked down at me. “He and a few friends got the tattoos a few years ago. A combination of too much alcohol in their Tru Blood and watching that ridiculous movie!”

“Oh I see!” I laughed. “He fancies himself as Ardeth Bey!”

“You've seen it too?” He asked disapprovingly. “It's a disgrace! Imhotep was a great man, an architect and an engineer, Chancellor to the Great Pharaoh Djoser. He designed his step pyramid at Saqquara, the first pyramid ever built in Egypt! To turn him into a movie monster is simply unforgivable!”

I'd quite enjoyed the movie actually but I tried my best to look stern and disapproving.

He laughed again. “You must forgive an old man his little foibles......”

“So, do you have only Egyptian scrolls here?” I asked.

“Oh no! We have much from the Greek and Roman period as well, though we have very little that is later than the end of the Roman Empire, mostly early Coptic Christian texts. Almost all of the European writings went to your Library in London. However we do have copies of many items that were held in Alexandria in the Ptolomaic period and were lost when the barbarian Romans burned the Library.”

He looked at me as though he were considering something. Then he appeared to come to a decision. “Much of these writings have been lost to mortals for centuries. Obviously we could not make them aware that they had survived without revealing ourselves but now, since they are aware of our existence, perhaps it is time to let them know?”

I blinked at him, astonished. “You'd be okay with that?” I asked.

“I have suggested this before to the High Council, but Alberic was always adamantly against the idea” he said with some distaste.

I have to admit that I was surprised. Evidently not all vampires became more secretive with age. I had been toying with the idea of suggesting that we release some of the information we had stored in the Library to human scholars for some while but I was convinced that older vampires would not approve of such a move. Perhaps with Rahotep on my side, something could be done after all.

“I think that's a wonderful idea! In your case Rahotep, great age is evidently accompanied by great wisdom.”

His thin lips parted in a wide smile. “At last......and to think that I was shocked when I learned of your youth!” He looked around at the shelves covering the walls as far as we could see and even further. “Who knows what modern minds might make of the information stored here? Perhaps my long vigil may be of some use after all!”

At this point one of the great bronze doors opened and Bill, Berenice and Lilith came in. Rahotep stood up and bowed to each of them in turn. “Chancellor, Your Highness, Lady Mother, welcome!”

Berenice turned to Bill “William, this is Rahotep. He has been Librarian here for far longer than even I can remember.....”

Bill bowed in acknowledgement “I trust my wife hasn't bored you with too many questions?” he asked with a smile.

“On the contrary” he answered. “We have had a very interesting and instructive conversation. Despite her youth and relative inexperience, I believe that your wife will make a far better Librarian than Alberic ever did.”


	17. Chapter 17

Bill took me to meet Theophanes the next evening. He was a pleasant man who had been turned in Byzantium towards the end of the Roman empire. He was obviously a strong minded individual, he would need to be to rule over this nest, but he appeared to have a considerable respect for Bill. He also appeared to be quite impressed with me. 

“Rahotep tells me that you agree with him about his plan to release information from the Library?” he asked.

“Certainly! I've always believed that knowledge should be freely available to anyone who wants it. Heaven knows there are enough people nowadays who have no interest in their own history never mind anyone else's! Anyone with an interest in the documents in our Libraries should be encouraged.” I said emphatically.

He smiled. “Well, I have a great respect for Rahotep's judgement. If he thinks you will be an asset to us and to the Authority then I'm sure he is correct. Come, I'll get a couple of my people to escort you to your transport.

Half an hour later we were being led down ever more ancient and narrow stone corridors by two young vampires who had tapped tentatively on our door with the message that the boat was ready to take us upriver to Aswan. I had no idea of the direction we were going but I assumed we were heading east towards the river. The problem was that this was also taking us towards the city. Eventually we came to a solid stone passage heading downwards into total darkness. Our escorts pulled a couple of flashlights from their pockets and took a position ahead and behind us and we started down.

About twenty feet down the passage levelled out and, judging by the water trickling from the ceiling, I guessed we might be under the river itself. After a while the passage began to rise again and I began to make out a few chinks of light ahead of us. We emerged from amongst the rocks on an island in the centre of the Nile. From the silence of the ancient tunnel suddenly we could see and hear the roar of traffic along the Corniche as our two guides hauled the huge rock which had hidden the entrance to the tunnel back into place. Below us was a long floating dock.

I don't quite know what I'd been expecting but it certainly wasn't this! Tied up to the dock was an elegant, modern motor yacht. I guessed her length at about 60 metres with three decks, the sharply raked windows giving her a sleek, refined look. The name painted on the stern was “The Breath of Osiris”.

The top deck was the smallest and was obviously the bridge with an area behind the captain's seats to sit and relax. The middle deck was larger, with the lower deck, largest of all. The rear of each deck was open with a stern rail and a area to sit outside.

The lower deck had two large cabins forward, each with a sizeable double bed tucked cleverly under the rake of the windows, and a large saloon decorated in dark wood with three chesterfield sofas upholstered in brown leather facing each other across a low mahogany table. Several matching armchairs and a long low stool in matching brown leather completed the furnishings. There was a long bar along one side and large double doors led out onto the rear deck where a long curved sofa ran around the stern rail with a low table and some matching chairs. To either side of the rear deck, narrow steps led up to the middle deck.

“There's another, smaller private lounge up there with a sleeping cabin and en-suite. Since it's self-contained I thought perhaps you and your wife would take that deck and we would take the lower deck?” suggested Omar. “What do you think?”

“Sounds ideal!” said Bill. “Let's take a look while you settle in.”

He reached for the rail and swung himself up the steps. I followed him a little more carefully and came out on the upper rear deck. The décor up here was quite different. We were standing on a deck made of pale ash planking with a long cream sofa along the stern rail. I looked over the rail to see the rear half of the lower deck, with the sofa and table. Above us the rear of the top deck extended about halfway out so that the rear half of the deck was in the open but the other half was under cover. Small circular lights had been set into the ceiling, giving the appearance of stars above us. On either side of the sofa was a low table on which stood a pair of tall brass lamps which lit the rear of the deck with a golden glow. In the centre of the deck was a circular, glass-topped table surrounded by four armchairs constructed with circular wicker frames filled with cream padded cushioning.

“Oh Bill! It's beautiful......” I gazed around in awe.

“Take a look in here!” said Bill, opening the double doors into the main cabins. 

The cabins on this deck were naturally, smaller as the whole deck was only about two thirds the size of the lower deck. The saloon was carpeted in a pale cream and the woodwork was lighter, giving a more modern look. Everything appeared to be curved. A long sofa ran along one side curving at the front up to a pair of low steps. An oval table in the same light wood was positioned in the curve of the sofa and opposite was a long sideboard in a matching wood. The ceiling and the heading over the windows was upholstered in cream leather and set with a multitude of tiny recessed lights. The steps led up to another pair of doors which opened onto a sleeping cabin containing a wide double bed with a chocolate and cream quilt and a pile of matching pillows. To one side were a range of cupboards in the same pale wood and to the other was a door leading to a bathroom containing a large bath set into what looked like a block of toffee coloured marble with a matching sink unit to one side.

“There's an awful lot of windows Bill! How will we manage in the daytime?” I asked worriedly.

Bill peered closely at the glass. “I've heard of this!” he exclaimed. “It's UV sensitive, it darkens automatically with the light levels. This must be worth a fortune!”

I smiled. “Well, I guess there are advantages to travelling with royalty!” I said.

As Bill and I stepped back out onto the rear deck he heard a sound from above us and looked up. I took one look at his face and somehow I just knew what he’d seen. Sure enough, when I looked up I saw Rafi’s tattooed face looking down from the bridge. He gave me a warm smile, glanced at Bill with a look of complete contempt and disappeared back up onto the bridge.

Bill looked at me in complete confusion. “Can you explain what that was about?” he asked.

“Oh dear! I think I probably can” I admitted uncomfortably. “He was in the bar the other night, he got me a drink and I’m afraid he must have overheard Lily and I talking…….when you were….you know…..with Bast.”

“You mean he thinks that I was…..”

“Yes!” I sighed. “I tried to explain to him that it was all a misunderstanding but I don’t think he believes me.”

“It certainly didn’t look like it!” muttered Bill. “So does this mean I have to travel all the way to Aswan and back with someone who despises me for betraying my wife?” he asked.

“Um….looks like it” I answered warily.

Bill’s eyes narrowed as he looked at me. “What? There’s something else?”

“Well……he didn’t seem too happy about me being married to my maker. He assumed that you’d coerced me into it, maybe even ordered me to marry you. It told him it wasn’t like that but……”

“He didn’t believe that either?”

“Um…..no.”

“What does it matter to him anyway? It’s none of his damned business!” Bill was on the verge of getting angry. Then something seemed to occur to him and his expression cleared. “Wait a minute! He fancies you......doesn't he?”

Bill grabbed me by the arm and pulled me back into the saloon, closing the door behind us.

“I'm right aren't I!” he whispered. “Tell me he didn't try to chat you up the other night!”

“Well yes he did actually!”

“I'll kill him!” hissed Bill furiously.

“Hey, hold it! He likes me......I can't blame him for that!” I said.

“You're my wife! He needs to learn that!”

“Just hold on a moment!” I was getting angry myself now. “Are other people not permitted to like me? You've got two Goddesses and a Faery Queen lusting after you and I'm not allowed one admirer?”

Bill glared at me in an angry silence.

“Not to mention all the other females drooling over you!” I muttered.

He laughed derisively. “Oh come on! Name one!”

“Sonjia Czapiewski!” I hissed back.

“Ah! Well, yes.......” he deflated visibly, like a burst balloon. “I'm being an idiot aren't I?” he said sheepishly.

“Well.....yes, actually you are!”

He sat down on the couch and sighed. “I'm sorry. I just can't bear the thought of other men........I'm sorry!”

“Look...it's nothing. He was behind the bar and I was angry, I needed a drink and he had a bottle of vodka that he was mixing with Tru Blood......”

“He plied you with alcohol!” Bill sounded like some horrified, elderly maiden aunt and I couldn't help giggling. 

“He didn't ply me with anything......I asked him for a drink!”

Bill sighed and held up his hands in a defeated gesture. “Okay. I'll try and ignore him. But he'd better not try anything with you and I'm warning you now, if that tattooed clown says one wrong word to me I'll toss him overboard!”


	18. Chapter 18

Our trip upriver to Aswan proved fairly uneventful, at least until we reached Luxor where Lilith, Berenice and Omar left us. Up 'til then we spent our nights relaxing on deck or in the large main saloon talking or playing cards. Bill and Omar taught Lilith to play poker. At first Omar had been so in awe of her that he could hardly speak in her presence. He knew, of course, that Berenice had been her Priestess and Guardian for two thousand years and so he was not surprised that Lilith treated her like a friend but it was obvious that her attitude to Bill and I puzzled him. Then one evening when he bowed deeply and backed away as she came into the saloon she'd had enough!

“Oh please don't do that every time Omar! It's really not necessary, not when we're alone here!” she said a little impatiently.

“I.........I'm sorry my lady” he said nervously.

Lily sat down on one of the large chesterfield sofas. “Come and sit with me” she ordered. Omar sat carefully beside her and eyed her uneasily. “Now, you know that Berenice is one of the few friends I have don't you.”

Omar's eyes widened. “But....thousands of vampires all over the world worship you my lady!” he exclaimed.

“I know that! But it's not the same thing is it?” she asked. “One of the reasons I wanted to come on this trip was the chance to be alone with my friends for a while. I need to relax Omar. Berenice is like a sister to me, she guarded and cared for the shrine all those long centuries and at the end I betrayed her....”

Omar opened his mouth to protest but she held up a hand to stop him.

“No, don't try to argue with me! I knew she expected me to be reincarnated in her and I took William instead. I won't say that I knew she would understand, because I didn't. I didn't even think about it, I just did what I wanted to do with no thought for her, my faithful Priestess.”

I glanced over at Berenice who was curled up on another sofa alongside Bill with a small smile on her lips.

“I'm sure you have heard the story, it's been told so many times now......fortunately William taught me the error of my ways” she said with a smile. “And I am genuinely sorry for the pain I caused her and would not have her suffer again” she turned a stern eye on Omar. “So as long as you treat her well you have nothing to fear from me, understand?”

“Yes......I think so” said Omar looking confused. “Ask what you will of me my Lady and I will do my best to please you.”

Lily sighed. “As you said Omar, I have thousands of worshippers, but I have very few friends. William, Alexandra and Berenice are my only real friends and I should like you to consider yourself as my friend as well. I need to learn what my people need Omar, and to do that I need to be in the company of others who behave normally around me.”

Omar nodded warily and, in fact, after Lily's little lecture he did seem to loosen up, taking his cue from the rest of us, and began to treat Lily as a friend rather than as an all-powerful Goddess. I would see him occasionally leaning on the stern rail with Bill, talking quietly and he began to look less shocked at Bill's gentle teasing of Lily.

Initially we saw very little of the crew, two humans, two vampires and Rafi, all of whom, perhaps due to an atavistic fear of Lilith, kept away from the main cabins, Rafi sleeping somewhere in the hold with his fellow vampire crew members, although when we did see him he made no attempt to hide his instinctive dislike for Bill. It seemed that Bill didn't notice but I could feel his annoyance with Rafi building into anger and I was afraid that sooner or later it was going to boil over.

When we reached Luxor we stayed for a night and took in some of the sights, going to the enormous temple in a group with dozens of other tourists, not one of whom guessed that there was a vampire Goddess among them! Omar had arranged for them to stay in a small villa on the West Bank until we returned and they waved us off on the final leg of our journey.

Unfortunately, when Bill and I were alone on board the Breath of Osiris. Rafi decided that it was time to make his move. I was leaning over the stern rail one evening watching the reflection of the stars in the dark surface of the river when Bill came up behind me and put his arms around me. He snuggled up close behind me and placed a kiss behind my ear.

“At last......I've got you all to myself!” he whispered.

“Like that's ever stopped you before!” I whispered back.

“Mmm......come here” he murmured, sitting down on the sofa on the open deck and pulling me into his arms. He kissed me, gently at first, then gradually becoming more passionate, his tongue trailing over the tips of my fangs until a few drops of his blood oozed out which he gently transferred to my tongue. I was almost lost in his kiss when I felt his hands tugging at my shirt and I pulled back a little.

“Bill, stop that!” I laughed. “The crew are still on board you know! Someone might see us!”

“So?” he murmured, his hands still busy.

“Don't you care?”

“Frankly, no!” he answered.

It suddenly dawned on me what he was doing. “It's more than that though isn't it!” I asked, trying to wriggle out of his grasp. “You want him to see us!”

“Who?” asked Bill, innocently.

“Rafi!” I growled. “You want to show him that I belong to you. You're marking your territory like some kind of animal!”

His hands tightened on my waist and he looked up at me with angry dark eyes. “What if I do? It's true isn't it? You are mine and it's about time he realised that!”

“Bill! I will not be used like that!” I hissed quietly, hoping that no-one could hear us.

I tried again to wriggle free but Bill's arms were like steel bands around my body. He pulled me forward roughly until I was pressed up against him. “Do you think you can stop me?” he asked softly.

I froze and stared down at him in shock. “You wouldn't!” I whispered, half to myself. I felt for his emotions through the bond and was shocked even further. He was aroused yes, I'd expected that, but there was none of his usual tenderness, only a roiling anger mixed with that powerful vampire possessiveness. He wanted me, but for the first time I felt that it was not because he loved me but to demonstrate his power over me, or perhaps over someone else.

I hauled off and slapped him, hard. His eyes flared red in the darkness and his arms tightened painfully around me, then suddenly he released me. He stood up and lowered me to the deck. “I........I need to be alone for a while.....” he whispered and turned without another word, heading into the cabin. I leaned shakily on the stern rail, my mind in a turmoil, struggling to sort out the mess of emotions I had felt from him. He was furious at the mere thought that another man would dare to imagine that he could lay a hand on me.

Then I suddenly remembered how I had felt that night when I had opened the door to our suite and seen him with Bast. Hadn't I been equally furious? I realised then that I hadn't been angry with him at all but with her. How dare she lay a hand on him! He was mine! I had known that I didn't stand a chance against her and I was fortunate to have Lily on my side, but what if I had been strong enough to take her on? If I had Lily's power? I knew I would have done my best to tear her apart. I gazed out into the night, flushed with embarrassment. I was blaming him for something which I had felt myself!

Just then I heard the slight sound of footsteps on the deck behind me and I turned to see Rafi watching me.

“Has he hurt you?” he asked solicitously.

Now I was unreasonably angry with him too, seeing him as the source of our sudden argument. “No! He hasn't.” I said sharply, “And what business is it of yours anyway!”

“I saw what he did.......what he was going to do........I mean to take you away from him Alex, you deserve better!”

“Jeez Rafi! What century are you living in? Nobody makes me do anything I don't want to do! Least of all Bill! They didn't when I was human and they certainly aren't going to start now!” I snapped. “I don't need any help from you and I definitely don't need to be rescued from Bill.”

“He is your maker! He can force you to obey him!” he said. “Let me deal with him for you.”

I glared at him angrily “You need to stay away from him!”

“Huh! I heard he was a soldier once but he's spent far too much time in meetings and behind a desk. I very much doubt that he could take me in a fight!” he growled.

Oh god, this was getting completely out of hand! I sighed and put a hand on his arm. “Rafi, he is far more powerful than you imagine! How do you think he got to such a high position in the Authority?” I asked. ”Besides, if Lilith discovered that you had done him any harm she would find you…..and she would destroy you!”

He eyed me suspiciously. “You’re just trying to protect him!”

“No Rafi! I’m just trying to protect you! I don’t want you to get hurt….”

We stared at each other for a moment “Promise me you won’t do anything stupid?” I insisted.

He sighed. “Okay! I can see you care for him, so I guess he can’t be that bad.”

“He’s not ‘bad’ at all! On the contrary. He’s a good, honourable man, I’d never have married him otherwise!”

“So what was all that about, not only just now but the other night back in Cairo?” he asked curiously. “You were furious with him, I just don’t understand.”

“Oh Rafi, I'm sorry but I can’t explain it. It’s just too complicated and you probably wouldn’t believe me anyway! Let’s just say that when you’re around Lilith some really strange things can happen.”

He didn’t look entirely convinced but at least he wasn’t going to pick a fight with Bill. He took my hand and kissed it gently then left. I sighed and turned around to see Bill leaning on the cabin door. 

“How long have you been there?” I demanded.

“Long enough…..” he came over and took my hands. “Thank you!” he said softly.

I laughed. “Whatever for!” 

“For what you told him about me…..or rather, for what you didn’t tell him!”

“Well…..like I said, it’s none of his business is it?” I pushed my hand into his shirt and rubbed my fingers over his chest. “You know I’m not interested in anyone else don’t you?”

He put an arm around my waist and pulled me closer, dropping a gentle kiss on my forehead. “Of course I know that! I'm sorry, I was just being stupidly jealous. I behaved like a fool, and worse....a bully, I'm so sorry. Put it down to my natural insecurity!”

I giggled. “Oh don’t be so silly!”

“It’s true!” he said, sounding perfectly serious. “Even now I still wake up every evening with a sense of wonder that you’re here with me…..”

“So you’re not mad at Rafi?” I asked.

“Oh yes!” he answered. “But I’m also a little sorry for him. He’s obviously fallen for you. I can sympathise with him there, but I can't be jealous because I know he’s never going to be as lucky as I am!”

“Oh you think you're going to get lucky do you?” I said with a smile.

He gave me a complacent little smirk. “Oh I think I might be in with a chance! I've got a present for you. I negotiated with one of the crew for it.” He reached behind him to where a half full bottle of Absolut Vodka sat on top of the bar. 

I went over to the bar and half filled a glass with Tru Blood while Bill twisted the top off the bottle and began to pour. “Say when?” he said.

“Oh you know me darling!” I purred. “I'm not a 'when' kind of girl. Fill it up!”


	19. Chapter 19

Several hours later we were lying in bed together sated from hours of lovemaking. I had persuaded Bill to try a drop of vodka in his Tru Blood, and then another drop. Then he had pinned me to the bed and sampled my blood to see if he could taste the vodka. He claimed that he could so of course I had to try his.......

I lay beside him, my head resting on his chest, his arm around my shoulders and his hand teasing curls of my hair between his fingers.

“Bill?” I whispered. “Can I suggest something without you getting mad with me?”

Bill frowned. “Of course you can! I promised to behave myself didn't I? You know how sorry I am about what happened earlier. You know I'd never have........” he gritted his teeth and made himself say it. “I'd never have tried to force you, you know that don't you?”

“Yes, I know that. I never thought for one moment that you would!”

Bill had spent so much time apologising that I’d threatened to pinch him every time he said sorry. I got about five good pinches in before he got the idea.

“You know I’m really …… Ow! That’s not fair! I didn’t even say it that time!” he cried indignantly. He rubbed his buttock and glared at me. “So what do you want to suggest?”

I took a deep breath. “I think we should talk to Rafi.....both of us” I added quickly as Bill's expression darkened immediately.

“Oh Alex! What on earth do you think I can say to him? He despises me because he thinks I betrayed you with another woman. You've told him he's wrong but he doesn't believe you. Why on earth would he believe me?”

“He's a nice guy really Bill, he thought he was doing the right thing. After all, he had good reason to think that you........ Well, it's understandable that he didn't like you.”

“So are you suggesting that we tell him the truth?” asked Bill. “Do you think he's likely to believe that? I'm not sure I believe it myself and I was there!”

“Look Bill! He likes me…..and I like him. I don’t want to have to spend my time here avoiding him and I don’t like the idea that he has totally the wrong impression of you. He thinks that I need help and he cares enough to want to try and help me.” I sighed. “I was pretty sharp with him myself actually and he didn't really deserve it, I should apologise.”

Bill continued to stroke my hair in silence for a moment. “Well okay. I guess I'm not too happy that he dislikes me so much either, although he does have a reason I suppose.” He glanced down at me ruefully. “After all I’ll bet you were furious with me? And that’s what he overheard?”

“Well yes I was!” You can’t blame him for getting the wrong impression. “I’m really sorry……ouch! Oh that’s definitely not fair!”

I started to tickle him. He toughed it out for a minute or two and then gave in, rolling me over, giggling, until he was lying on top of me, his weight pinning me down to the bed. Suddenly the whole atmosphere changed from light hearted fun to something else, something considerably more erotic. He shifted his weight slightly and the feel of his cool, smooth skin against mine sent shivers running through me. Bill sensed this and leaned down to kiss me, his body pressing close against me. As I drew my knee up, wrapping my leg around his waist and trapping him tight against me I knew that our discussion was going to have to be postponed…….

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We did eventually manage to have a civilized talk with Rafi. I invited him to join us one evening in the main saloon on the lower deck since Bill adamantly refused to have him in our private living quarters. Since I was aware that he was making an enormous effort to overcome his natural desire to beat Rafi to a pulp and throw him overboard for daring to speak to me alone, I was inclined to allow him this small concession.

He came in warily and sat down beside me on one of the long chesterfield sofas. I saw Bill wince slightly and sighed. What was it with these guys? There were four large sofas in the saloon, how hard would it be to pick a different one? Bill began to explain, with considerable patience, that there were other creatures in this world who possessed more power than vampires, and that it was one of these who had been in our room with him that night. However it soon became obvious that Rafi didn’t believe him.

“It’s true Rafi, I promise you!” I said earnestly.

“You mean he’s conned you into believing it as well” said Rafi condescendingly.

I saw Bill tense and jumped in quickly. “No! I mean I know it’s true. I’ve seen them myself! In fact…….” I held up my hand and concentrated on the anger I had felt when he had spoken. A faint blue light began to appear around my fingers and spread slowly up my arm until I appeared to be wearing a long glittering blue glove. I wiggled my fingers and blue sparks flew off them. Rafi backed away rapidly.

Bill gave him a little smile. “You see? There are more things in heaven and earth………. and believe me there are beings out there far more powerful than her!” He glanced over at me. “Sorry Alex!”

I thought of Queen Mab and the Erlking on his great black stallion. “Oh don’t apologise, you’re quite right!”

Rafi was sitting back looking thoughtful. “I did hear something strange back in Cairo actually. Someone claimed to have seen one of the ancient Gods in one of the oldest passages Bastet, the Cat Goddess. ……we all thought he just had a vivid imagination, or too much to drink? Some of those corridors are lined with ancient relief carvings and even though we can see in the dark …… well…..”

Bill looked at me and raised an eyebrow. 

“What?” asked Rafi. “You’re not saying it really was her?”

“It’s quite possible that it really was her” he said quietly. “We met her when we were exploring with Lilith. It appears that she knew Lilith long ago and recognised her somehow even in her new incarnation. She…..um…..came to visit.”

“But wasn’t she……..oh!” Rafi glanced at me, looking embarrassed. 

“A sex Goddess?” I asked brightly. “Yes, that’s right! That’s why I had to get Lilith to run her off for me!”

“Pity she didn’t catch her!” growled Bill. “If I see that little black cat again there’s going to be trouble!”

Rafi went quite still. “A little black cat?” he asked.

“With a gold hoop in her ear.” I said disdainfully. “A bit tacky I thought.”

“That was her? But I saw her!” whispered Rafi “I did wonder how a cat had got in.”

Bill smiled. “Well congratulations, you have joined the ranks of the very few to have seen her in thousands of years! Consider yourself fortunate that she didn’t fancy you…..” He got up from the sofa and walked over to the microwave on the sideboard to get a drink. As he passed our sofa he leaned down to Rafi and whispered “She’s a bit rough!”

He picked up three bottles of Tru Blood and brought them over to us. He sat down opposite Rafi and leaned forward with his elbow on his knees, holding the bottle in one hand. “Now, I don’t usually feel the need to explain myself but I’ll do this because Alex asked me to. I love my wife dearly and I would never knowingly do anything to hurt her. Now she understands this, but it appears that you don’t. Because I don’t want us to have to spend the rest of the trip avoiding each other I’m asking you to try and understand this as well.”

Rafi sat back and sighed. Then he gave a little smile. “Well, you can’t blame a guy for trying!” he said.

“I certainly can if it’s my wife that’s involved!” growled Bill. “So I’m hoping that you’ll appreciate that you’re wasting your time?”

“Yes, I can see that!” said Rafi.


	20. Chapter 20

I doubt that Bill and Rafi will ever be friends but at least they were civil to each other on the rest of our journey to Aswan. Rafi would sit on the rear deck with us in the evening, while his friend Samir was on the bridge, with a drink and chat for a while and I think he gradually began to accept that Bill and I were not simply together as maker and progeny but as husband and wife……as lovers.

Despite the trouble he’d caused I had to admit to a slight feeling of complacency. I adored Bill but I couldn’t help feeling that it wouldn’t do any harm for him to realise that he had some competition……. He knew perfectly well how much I loved him, he could feel it just as I could feel his love for me. It was just that possessiveness coming out and I could forgive him that since I’d felt it myself.

When we reached Aswan Bill and I visited the Island Temple of Philae, walking hand in hand amid crowds of tourists through the pillared halls listening to the sound and light show. The next night we were due to leave on our search for Sobek’s secret temple. I came out onto the rear deck that evening to see Rafi struggling aboard under a pile of oddly shaped leather baggage.

“What on earth have you got there?” I asked, bemused.

“Ah!” I turned to see Bill behind me. “That’ll be the saddlebags for the camels!”

“Camels!” I cried. “What is it with you and camels?”

“Best way to travel in the desert” said Bill briskly. “Come on, let’s get packing and make a move. It's more than one night's journey so we will need to sleep in the earth for the day.”

I felt a distinct panic grip me at the mere thought of this. “Oh Bill, surely we could have taken a Land Rover or something?”

“There are no roads out there, we'll be travelling across the desert.” Bill put a gentle hand on my cheek and turned my face to his. “Besides, this is something you need to do. Vampires have gone to ground in the earth for thousands of years Alex. You should do this with me........you never know when you might need to do it alone. It's not pleasant. On the contrary, it's cold and dirty and uncomfortable, but it's safe! It's saved my life before now and I've no doubt that it will do the same for you, perhaps many times in your existence.”

I was distinctly uneasy about the whole idea but I knew Bill was right. I was coming to terms with the fact that I wasn’t human any more but I knew he had been shielding me as much as he could from anything he thought I might have difficulty coping with. We quickly packed up the clothes and equipment we needed and carried the packs out onto the dock where Rafi stood with a worried looking Arab and two camels who looked down their noses at Bill and me with the disdainful expressions of a couple of dowager duchesses.

“Okay, these camels are yours for the next two nights” he said. “This gentleman will be here on the docks to collect them on the third night.”

“That’s fine” answered Bill. We’ll be there and back in that time.”

Rafi muttered something in Arabic to the camels, who obediently sat down. I just hoped that Bill had caught what it was as I was sure he wasn’t going to ask Rafi for help! Bill loaded the packs behind the saddles and helped me up, then mounted his camel. Both our mounts stood up obediently and we set off down the dusty road and out into the desert.

It was a few hours before dawn when Bill pulled up his camel beside an outcropping of rocks and somehow persuaded it to kneel down so that he could dismount.

“This looks like a good spot” he said, coming over to me and tugging at the rein. The camel obediently knelt down and I dismounted. “Got to say I prefer a horse!” I muttered.

“But they wouldn’t like it too much out here, the camels will have to be left here during the day. That’s why I picked this place, they’ll have a little shade alongside these rocks.”

He led the camels over into the lee of the rocks and hobbled them, they both knelt down again and sat placidly watching him as he reached into one of the bags and pulled out a folding shovel. 

“Might as well make it easier on ourselves!” he said cheerfully. “Although there’s been many a time in the past that I’ve had to dig myself in with my bare hands.”

I watched nervously as he rapidly dug a shallow trench in the sand, piling the excavated sand along one edge. The top layer of sand was clean and dry but deeper down it looked dirty and damp. 

“Won’t we get filthy in there?” I asked uncomfortably.

“Yes!” he answered. “Which is why we’re going to take our clothes off.” He gave me a sly little smile. “I’ll be happy to offer any assistance you might require?” 

He walked over to the camel and tucked the shovel back in a bag. Then he stripped quickly, folding his shirt and trousers and tucking them into one of his packs along with his shoes. He looked back over his shoulder at me and smiled.

“Well come on! Or do you want me to undress you?”

He strolled over to me and I watched him, admiring the play of the muscles in his strong thighs as he walked. I had dressed sensibly in black cotton trousers and a loose cotton shirt and as he leant forward to kiss me I felt his busy fingers unfastening the shirt buttons. His lips trailed down into the hollow of my throat as he opened my shirt and moved gradually downwards over the exposed skin until he had tugged the shirt out of the waistband of my trousers. He eased the shirt over my shoulders and it slid to the ground as he knelt down in the sand before me. His hands slipped behind my buttocks as he pulled me closer and began to tug at the button on my trousers with his teeth.

I smiled and ran my fingers through his hair, then took pity on him and unfastened the button. Immediately he pulled the zipper down and pressed his mouth to the thin cotton fabric of my panties. The hands holding my buttocks hooked themselves over the waistband of my trousers and slid them gently down my legs. I knew what he was doing, he was well aware of how nervous I was about this, he was trying to distract me and I loved him for it. Besides he was doing a good job! 

My knees began to feel weak and I kicked off my trousers and lowered myself into the sand with him. I began to rub my hands gently over his chest and I soon felt him stiffening against me. He pulled me gently into his arms and kissed me, his tongue searching for mine as his hands explored my body. I felt him reach behind me and tug my shirt across the sand so that it lay behind me as he lowered me down onto it. I continued to kiss him as he lifted my hips and slowly slid himself inside me.

I realised later that Bill had timed his actions very carefully as, just as I began to see stars bursting behind my eyes, I felt the approach of the dawn and lay limp and shuddering in his arms as he moved both of us into the shallow grave he had dug. I felt the cold sand slide down over my legs as Bill began to cover us but I had already slipped, dazed with pleasure, into the darkness before we were completely buried for the day.


	21. Chapter 21

When I woke I was wrapped in Bill’s embrace. He was already awake as he felt me stir and murmured a greeting to me. I could feel the sand all around me, the weight of it on top of us. “How do we get out of here?” I muttered.

“We have to dig our way out” he murmured in reply. I felt the sand shift and trickle over my lips as he spoke and felt panic begin to grip me.

Bill felt it and held me tighter “It’s okay, don’t worry. You’re safe, it can’t harm you…..” he murmured softly. I got a grip on myself and calmed down.

“Now then, since I dug us in, I think you should dig us out. I don’t see why I should have to do all the work!” 

I could feel his chest rumbling with that laugh of his but I was still close to panic. “How? What do I do?” I whispered, struggling to keep the sand from running into my mouth.

“Just reach up until your hand is free” he said calmly and I began to wriggle my arm, pushing my hand upwards. I had almost reached the length of my arm when I suddenly felt the sand give way and my fingers broke out into empty air. I moved my arm around, desperately trying to widen the hole.

“I’ll help you” whispered Bill, “you can’t use your other arm since I’m lying on it!”

With the two of us working we soon made a hole big enough for me to get my head and arms out. Bill shoved me upwards and I hauled myself out, astonished at how easily our combined strength had shifted the sand. I watched as Bill wriggled out of the hole, a filthy, sand covered monster and wondered what on earth I must look like!

He stood up and shook himself like a big dog, sand flying in all directions.

I tried to run my fingers through my hair and failed miserably. “Urrgghh! I’ve got sand absolutely everywhere!” I said.

“Good job I chose a spot next to the lake then!” said Bill reaching for my hand. I took it and we ran together towards the edge of the lake, the sandy ground, warmed by the day’s sun, feeling hot under our bare feet. The dam had caused the river to rise up the cliffs which had restricted it for thousands of years and it had flowed out over the edge of the desert. This meant that the edge of the lake was fairly shallow for about fifty feet or so and then dropped off suddenly. The water was warm and we plunged under the surface, washing the sand from our bodies and out of our hair.

“We'll have to do that again on the way back?” I asked.

“Yes. I'm sorry Alex, I know you don't like it but you have to learn” he said uncomfortably. “We like to think that we're modern and sophisticated. We use modern conveniences, i-phones, tablets, wi-fi. We live in luxury apartments, sleep in crisp cotton sheets. We try to convince humans that we're just like them, but we're not. This is what we truly are Alex. We are creatures of darkness, you must never forget that.”

We floated for a while on our backs in the comfortably warm, shallow lake looking up at the stars then Bill stood up and began to walk back to shore, the water running off his pale skin in the starlight making him look like some marble statue of a Greek God, come to life.

“Come on! We can’t laze about here all night, we’ve got work to do!” he called back over his shoulder.

I stood up reluctantly and followed him. He had reached the spot where the camels were kneeling and pulled out a towel from his pack. He began drying himself briskly and putting on his clothes. I followed his example and ended up with the same problem I had always had on the beach as a child. He watched me with an amused smile as I leaned against my camel, balancing on one leg and trying to brush the sand off my foot and get my shoe on without putting the foot back down. The camel turned its head and regarded me placidly.

Eventually we were mounted and ready to go. Bill pulled a small GPS device out of his pack and examined it for a moment. “Not far to go now. According to Major Castleton’s co-ordinates the temple should be about two more miles upriver.”

We rode in silence along the lakeside for a couple of miles until Bill pulled up his camel and examined the GPS again. He turned the camel towards the water’s edge and rode it out a few feet into the shallow rim of the lake. “Yes, Major Castleton’s spot is about fifty yards that way” he pointed out into the lake. “This must have all been desert at the top of the cliff back then.

He turned the camel and rode back out onto the sand, stopping alongside me and urging the camel to sit down. Mine followed suit without needing any instructions from me…..fortunately.

I unpacked my wetsuit and stripped down to my bra and panties. I had never put one of these thing on before so I was concentrating on getting it right and wasn't watching Bill. I carefully pulled the wetsuit inside out just leaving a little at the bottoms of the legs and arms. Then I slipped my foot through the leg and used the inside of the suit to pull it up my leg a little at a time. Once I'd got both feet in up to the knees I began to slide the rubber up my thighs, easing it into a snug fit at the crotch. Then I did the same for the arms and pulled the whole of the top up to my neck. 

I stretched, feeling the tight rubber clinging snugly to my body and eased it into a more comfortable fit over my breasts. “Would you zip this up for me please?” I asked, turning to Bill.

He was standing quite still, staring at me seemingly entranced by the smooth rubber stretching over my body as I moved. He came over and ran a hand down my side and over the curve of my buttock. I felt him shiver. “There's a wrinkle down there on your ankle” he said, his voice catching in his throat. “I think perhaps you should take it off and start again!”

I smacked him on the chest. “Bill! Behave yourself! We're supposed to be doing serious archaeological exploration here, not making a porno movie for rubber fetishists.”

“What a shame” he whispered, reaching down to my buttocks for the tab of the zipper and slowly sliding it up. He placed a gentle kiss on the nape of my neck before snugging the zipper tight and fastening the velcro tab at my neck. “Can we do the porno movie later?” he asked hopefully.

I giggled. “You! Get that suit on!”

He looked down at himself with a slightly embarrassed expression. “It's going to be a bit of a tight fit!” He glanced back up at me. “Couldn't we just........”

“No!” I said firmly. “It was difficult enough getting into this suit. Goodness knows how I'm going to get out of it!”

“I'll help!” he volunteered enthusiastically.

“Later!” I stood on tiptoe and kissed him. “Now get that suit on!” I glanced down at his crotch. “It's going to be damned uncomfortable.......and it serves you right!”

He heaved a patient sigh and began to undress and wriggle into his wetsuit.

When I'd zipped him in he reached into his pack and pulled out two halogen lamps attached to webbing straps. He placed one against my forehead and tightened the straps. “We'll need to be able to see what we're doing and it'll be totally dark inside those cliffs” he explained. “We can see very well in the dark but not in absolute darkness, there has to be some light, however small.”

He strapped the other lamp to his own head and turned back to me. “Well then, let’s go and see what’s out there shall we?” He took my hand and we walked out into the still, warm waters of the lake.


	22. Chapter 22

The sandy bottom of the lake was just visible in the moonlight until the water was up to our waists at which point we began to swim out towards the edge of the ancient cliffs. At about a hundred yards out the pale sand beneath us suddenly disappeared to be replaced by empty darkness, we had swum over the edge of the cliff. We turned on the lights and floated on the surface looking down into the void below us. The two beams of light showed us a steep cliff, the layers of rock eroded by thousands of years of the rushing waters of the Nile. I waved to get Bill’s attention and gestured upwards. He got the idea and lifted his head out of the water.

“Amanet said that the entrance had been hidden by a rockslide” I said. “This is just solid rock as far down as we can see. We should swim along the edge of the cliff and see if we can see any evidence of a landslip.”

“Good idea!” said Bill. “Well……you’re in charge, which way?”

I shrugged. “No idea! Should we split up do you think?”

“No! replied Bill firmly. We should stick together! Let’s try this way.” He slid back under the water and began to swim out over the edge of the cliff and turned to the right. I was surprised at how much I could see in the dark waters and followed him easily. Sure enough after a few minutes Bill slowed and gestured to me to join him. Swimming closer I could see quite clearly the edge of a rockslide. Our lights followed it down and we turned and began to swim downwards. The tumbled rocks ended on a ledge quite some way down the cliff and I turned my head to shine the light further down. I saw a dark rectangle in the cliff face below us and felt myself almost jump with excitement. This was it! That was the entrance to the tunnel Amanet had spoken of.

I swam further downwards and gave a kick, darting forward into the entrance to the tunnel. Suddenly I felt a hand grasp my ankle and I was jerked backwards. I turned to see Bill shaking his head emphatically. He tapped his chest and pointed to the tunnel. Obviously he was planning to go in first. I nodded, somewhat reluctantly, but I knew he was right. I wanted to be the first to see the secret temple but I knew Bill was much stronger and faster than me and we had no idea what we might find inside. He slipped past me and swam into the dark tunnel with me following closely behind.

The floor of the tunnel was covered with a layer of fine sand. It was narrow and claustrophobic and completely dark but with the two beams of light we managed to see the wall at the far end. It consisted of square cut stone blocks and was obviously man made. Bill turned his light upwards and we swam up into empty space. Rising up over the edge of what had once been a pool our lights illuminated the inside of the closed doors. Two great stone slabs flanked by two broad pillars stained with some kind of algae in random patterns. I turned my head and panned the headlamp beam around us. We were in a large square chamber about thirty feet high and fifty feet across. We turned and saw a dark form at the rear of the chamber and began to swim towards it.

The beams of our lights played over it as we approached until they illuminated it completely. Bill had stopped and hung motionless in the water his lips moving in a silent exclamation of shock.

The statue was carved out of the living rock and towered over us, two red stones set into the long snout glittering in the headlight beams. It was just as Amanet had described, the muscular body of a man in a short kilt surmounted by the great head of a crocodile, striding forwards towards the main doors, a long staff in one hand and in the other....... Bill swam forward and reached out a hand to grasp the great ruby which hung on the thick gold chain clasped in the God's other hand. He unhooked the chain and held it out to me. An enormous ruby held in a net of gold wires, the Heart of Eternity.

Bill reached forward and carefully hung the chain around my neck. I looked down at it and as I did so my headlight beam ran over the floor at the feet of the God. Bill looked down and then pointed between the great stone feet. I could see a ridge in the sand. We dropped down to the ground and Bill brushed the sand away to reveal a heavy gold rod about three feet long. He reached into the sand and lifted it, revealing the head moulded into the shape of a crocodile's head. It was the sceptre of the High Priest, abandoned when the Nubians had attacked the temple three and a half thousand years ago. We were the only people to enter it since......

We looked around, our headlamp beams sweeping over the walls the shifting shadows making the relief carvings appear to move in the darkness. I moved closer to the rear wall and saw that it was covered with hieroglyphics but the same algae which stained the inside of the main doors was growing over them making it impossible to read it. I hung motionless in the water, turning my head so that the light ran over the rows of incised characters until I found what I was looking for. The cartouche of a Pharaoh! I wiped the algae away with my hand. A Pharaoh of the Middle Kingdom who I recognised as one of the kings of the thirteenth dynasty. Khahotepre Sobekhotep, or Sobekhotep IV. It fitted together, It seemed only right that such a temple would be built and dedicated in the reign of a group of kings who were named for the crocodile God.

I felt the swirl of the dark waters as Bill swam up beside me and, side by side, we explored the pillared chambers behind the great statue of the God. Towards the rear of the temple I noticed that there were cracks in the ceiling where thin weak beams of light came through. The walls were covered with relief carving each figure draped in a cloak of weed. I drifted silently through the chambers until Bill took my arm and pointed upwards. I understood that he thought it was time to leave but I was reluctant to go. I shook my head but he gave me a stern look and took my hand, pulling me out into the main hall and back down into the pool. I twisted round for a last look at the great statue before he drew me back through the tunnel out into the lake and we swam for the surface. Bill's head popped up alongside me and I turned to him. “My God Bill! We did it! We actually found it!”

I looked down at the great ruby hanging around my neck on its chain. Bill handed me the golden sceptre, picked me up in his arms and carried me triumphantly to the sandy bank where we sat down and gazed at each other in wonder. He reached forward and took the ruby in his hand examining it carefully.

“This is an astonishing piece! I've never seen anything like it before” he said. It's far too big for you!”

I laughed. “I don't intend to keep it! It belongs to the Egyptian people.” I had a sudden idea. “Didn't you say that Theophanes wanted the Authority's backing to go public about his nest living in the chambers beneath the Giza plateau? Well why shouldn't we announce the discovery of the temple at the same time? We could hand this and the sceptre over to the Cairo Museum authorities. It would deflect attention from the vampires a little. They could even offer to assist in the excavation!”

I suddenly thought of something. “Oh!.......do you think we'll get into trouble for excavating without a licence?”

“Excavating? We've not excavated anything have we? We were just taking a swim.....” answered Bill innocently. “That's a brilliant idea though, to hand over the sceptre and the jewel when Theophanes makes his announcement. It would be a great media coup. Ulrich would be proud of you!” Bill smiled at me. “I expect your friend Rahotep would approve as well. Perhaps he'd like to join us?” 

“We'll have to ask him.” I grinned up at Bill happily. 

He was still holding the great ruby in his hand and he leaned forward to give me a kiss. “It seems a shame to lose this after all you've done to track it down. If it were not for you it might have remained hidden for ever.” 

He thought for a moment. “I intend to have a copy of this made for you.” he said. “Smaller of course, something that you could wear. It will be perfect for you, for you are my eternity.”

I smiled at him. “Well, thanks. But I'm not sure I understand you.”

“It's difficult to explain” he said quietly, his fingers reached for my face and began to stroke my cheek. “Eternity is such a vast concept that it's very hard to even imagine it. When I first understood what had happened to me I was horrified. The very idea of immortality sickened me, I felt that I was trapped forever in this half-life. All those hellish years I spent with Lorena, then the years I spent wandering the world alone..............But now, after all this time, in you I have finally found something worth living an eternity for.”


	23. Chapter 23

We sat on the sand staring into each other's eyes until the silence of the desert was broken by a tiny sound from the lake. Bill and I both looked around and saw a ripple out in the dark water.

We had taken off the lights which had been strapped to our heads, Bill reached for his and shone the bright beam out over the water. As he panned the light around it passed over a dark shape beneath the surface and he snapped it back to focus on a long jagged ridge which had broken the surface and was heading rapidly towards us. We both jumped up and backed away as the long shape came closer and an enormous crocodile began to haul itself out of the water and onto the bank.

“Bill! Let's get out of here! Those things can move fast on land you know. They can easily outrun a man!”

“As can we” answered Bill calmly, his eyes on the crocodile.

“What about the camels? They can't run, they're hobbled!”

“Damn!” Bill turned his head to see the camels had struggled to their feet and backed away to the length of the rope. One of them let out a hoarse cry of fear just as I heard a voice.

“Do not be afraid!”

Bill turned to me, his eyes wide. “Did you hear that?”

“Yes! It seemed to be inside my head!” I looked around wildly. “Bill, There's no-one here but us. If the camels were going to talk to us they'd have done it by now. That only leaves........” I turned to look down the bank where the crocodile was resting comfortably on its belly watching us.

“Uh oh!” I backed away carefully.

As we watched a familiar haze appeared in the air and the crocodile appeared to stand up on its hind legs. Then suddenly we were looking at a man. He was naked except for a short linen kilt and a white linen headdress of the type I had seen in the ancient wall paintings. He looked perfectly normal except that his skin appeared to have a greenish tint.

We stared at each other for a moment. “Are you Sobek?” I asked.

“I am!”

There was another silence which I somehow felt obliged to fill with a question. “Why don't you have the head of a crocodile?” I asked curiously.

Bill's head snapped around to me just as there was another blur and where Sobek had stood there was an almost perfect replica of the great statue we had seen in the temple. The body was still basically human although the skin was now definitely green with a suggestion of heavy scales over the shoulders and chest, but the head was that of a crocodile, the round green eyes with a vertical slit in the middle, the long jaws full of vicious jagged teeth.

Bill put his head in his hands. “If we're to survive these encounters I can see I'm going to need a supply of duct tape to put over your mouth!” he muttered to me through gritted teeth. “Why must you ask these questions?”

“I was just curious!”

“That is quite understandable.” The figure had changed back to the form of a man, much to our relief. “However the jaws of a crocodile do not lend themselves to human speech so I considered that this form would be more suitable” he turned to look at me. “Does that answer your question?”

“Yes! Yes, thank you.” I said quickly.

“Although I have not spoken with mortals for many centuries......” his eyes, which had somehow retained their reptilian look, narrowed slightly as he examined me more closely. Then he stepped forward and raised his hand. I felt Bill tense and I put out a hand to stop him as Sobek placed his fingers gently on my cheek. 

“But you are not mortal?” he asked.

“No” replied Bill, watching him carefully.

“You are the children of Lilith? I had heard that she had returned to the earth.”

“Yes, that's right” I answered.

His fingers trailed down my neck and over the rubber of my wetsuit until they reached the gold chain and curled around the great ruby which still hung around my neck. “You removed this from my temple?”

“Yes, I did.”

“Why would you do that?” he asked curiously.

I thought for a moment. “Because I was curious to see if I could find it? Because it's very beautiful and I think people should have the opportunity to see it. It's been hidden there for thousands of years.” I brushed my fingers over the elaborate gold wires which encased the great ruby. “Some ancient craftsman spent a long time and a lot of effort to make this, I think his work deserves to be admired.”

Sobek nodded thoughtfully. “That is good” he said. “But how did you know where to find it? This temple was abandoned in ancient times, no-one has been here in thousands of years.”

“I read the story in an ancient scroll” I explained. “It was written by the girl who brought it here.”

Sobek stood frozen for a moment, his eyes glazed over. “Ah yes! I remember her, Amanet. She was a good girl, a faithful servant of my High Priest. I was glad that she was released to marry her love. She had suffered much in my service.”

I just had to ask. “When she was trapped in the temple, she said that a crocodile came out of the river every day and watched Paneb with his goats until he moved up onto the cliff, which was how he found her. Was that you?”

Sobek smiled. “Indeed it was! He was a brave lad – I was afraid I might have to chase him up there myself, but he got the message eventually.”

Bill stepped forward, clearly uneasy about Sobek's hand which was still resting on my shoulder. “Would you join us?” he gestured at the pile of baggage which lay beside the camels.

Sobek nodded again and we walked over to the camels, Bill hurriedly arranging the bags into a more comfortable position and ensuring that I sat down beside him with Sobek opposite us. He sat with his legs crossed in front of him in exactly the same pose I had seen in statues of ancient Egyptian scribes.

“You said that you had heard that Lilith had returned?” asked Bill curiously. “How did you know?”

“We immortals can sense each other's presence” he explained. “When she was re-incarnated, we felt it.”

“Well I guess that explains how Bast recognised her” I said to Bill.

Sobek turned to me. “You have met Bast?”

“Ah yes!” sad Bill carefully. “That didn't turn out too well.”

“She suggested that you were no longer.......viable? If that's the right word?” I said carefully. “Although, I don't think she actually said so. She.... sort of skirted around it.”

“She likes to give the impression that she is the only one left but she is wrong! You have no need to fear me, I have not the power I once had but I am far from gone. The ancients had the right idea. They believed that a man lived on in the afterlife as long as the living remembered him. Their elaborate tombs and funerary temples were built for this purpose. So that the living would remember them. And so it is with us. Worship gives us power but we remain as long as we are remembered.

“Well humans certainly remember you, as they remember all the Egyptian Gods. In fact there was a big argument about you a few years ago on message boards on the internet!”

Bill looked at me, his face a picture of astonishment. “There was?” he asked.

“Sure! Did you ever watch 'Lost'?” I asked him. “I'm not going to try and explain it because that's pretty much impossible, but there was a group of people on an undiscovered island on which they found a statue. There was an argument as to whether it depicted Sobek or Taweret.”

Sobek looked quite offended. “Are you saying that I could be mistaken for a pregnant hippopotamus?” he asked.

I couldn't help giggling. “No! Not really. At first it was only shown from the back. You could see it had a long snout and there was an Ankh in each hand. That looked more like Taweret, but later you saw more of the head and it looked more like.......well, like you.”

He laughed “I see! Well, I'll take whatever I can get! In fact there are large numbers of humans who play games on some insubstantial platform in the ether, who give themselves the names of Gods.”

“You mean the internet?” I asked.

Sobek gave a great sigh. “I was once worshipped as a creator and protector of this land of Egypt. The ancient people believed that I arose from the waters of chaos. The Nile brought life to the land and I was the guardian of the waters. Now my name is used by mortals to create imaginary battles, my creatures are unable to cross the great dam into Egypt. I can feel my strength fading, I fear that we Old Gods are not long for this world.”

Somehow his reptilian eyes held such a depth of sadness that I was suddenly determined to do something to help him.

“Your problem is not so much that people no longer worship you but that they don’t know that you exist at all” I said thoughtfully.

“The ancients did not know for certain that I existed, yet they still worshipped me” Sobek pointed out.

“Well, people are not so trusting nowadays” said Bill. “They want proof before they accept anything.” 

I thought for a moment. “Lilith has power!” I said. “She lives with her children and gains power from their worship. Mortals may not believe she is a Goddess, or worship her, but at least they know she exists.”

Sobek gazed at me in disbelief. “Are you suggesting that I announce myself to the world? I hardly think that humans are ready to accept immortals!”

I laughed. “I don’t think they were ready to accept vampires either but they got ‘em whether they liked it or not! I suspect that, over the next couple of years, various other supernatural creatures are going to come out into the open as well, so why not you?”

He sat silently, thinking about this. “And suppose we were to do this, what would I do then?” he asked curiously. 

I was flying by the seat of my pants here, I cast around desperately for ideas. “Well…….how about…….wildlife conservation? Crocodiles are not the cuddliest of creatures but some species are endangered and there are people out there, lots of people, who care tremendously about the welfare and conservation of animals. You could offer your services as a figurehead for some organisation. I’m sure they’d love the idea and it would do wonders for your public image…..”

Sobek rested his hands on his knees and watched me for a moment. Then he turned to Bill. “She is clever, your woman! Should any of this come to pass I should like her to assist me….” he bowed his head towards Bill, “………with your permission?”

Bill glanced at me a little uneasily and nodded.

Sobek turned to me with a smile. “Would you be willing to help me? Should any of this ever happen!”

“Well…..yes, if there’s anything I can do. I’ll be happy to do it.”

His eyes slid down to the Heart of Eternity which rested against the black rubber of my wetsuit. “I was fortunate that the jewel was found by one such as you.” 

He rose gracefully with the ease of long practice and Bill and I got to our feet as well. 

“Then I will leave you, but perhaps we will meet again someday…..” He smiled at us both and turned to walk towards the lake. When the water reached his knees there was a blurring in the air and he was gone. There was a swirl in the dark water and a long shape headed out into the depths of the Nile.


	24. Chapter 24

Our visit to the Cairo nest had proved…..interesting, to say the least!

Quite apart from my embarrassing encounter with Bast, which still made my skin crawl with shame whenever I thought about it, Alex had made a couple of new friends. One I certainly approved of…..the other I certainly did not. Rahotep, the Cairo Librarian, appeared to be highly impressed with her but unfortunately Rafi, the young man who was in charge of the boat crew, was also smitten with her.

I had wanted Alex to meet other vampires, I still wanted that but I hadn’t really thought through the consequences. When she had been human, other vampires kept away from her as she was considered to belong to me. They regarded her as my pet. But now that she was vampire she was viewed in a different light altogether. As a person in her own right, able to make her own decisions. Decisions which might not include me!

I was still held to have some power over her as her maker but I soon realised that this wasn’t going to stop other vampires making advances to her.

I was shocked at the extent to which this angered me. When I first realised it I literally saw red, my vision appeared to be blurred by a red haze. I shudder to think about my behaviour now, I grabbed Alex by the arm and dragged her into the cabin, demanding information about Rafi. She was understandably annoyed with me pointing out, quite reasonably, that she had to put up with other women who fancied me…….

I managed to keep my jealousy and anger in check while Lilith, Berenice and Omar were aboard but once we were alone it seemed that Rafi was always there, fetching something or adjusting something, I really began to believe that he was being deliberately obstructive. It was in this frustrated mood that I made a terrible mistake. I cannot hide anything from Alex…..even without the blood bond, she’s too perceptive. She said I was “marking my territory” and she was absolutely correct! I wanted to show Rafi that she belonged to me, I knew she wasn't happy about it but at that moment I didn't care. 

When she slapped me it was as if everything suddenly snapped back into focus. I was utterly horrified and ashamed of myself. I had to get away from her so I made some excuse and escaped into the lounge, leaving her on the deck. It was only then that it occurred to me that this was what she must have felt when she opened the door of our suite and saw me with Bast. This combination of fear and anger, fear that I might lose her and anger that someone might try to take her away from me. Then I heard her talking to Rafi.....he actually said that, that he meant to take her from me, that she deserved better, and the worst thing of all was that I had to agree with him, she did deserve better than that!

I stood frozen with panic, listening. I knew that if she wanted to leave me I could never bring myself to force her to stay. The relief when she told him in no uncertain terms that she wasn't interested was overwhelming. She even refused to explain why she had been so angry with me in Cairo, thus saving my intense embarrassment.

I should have trusted her. I should always trust her. After all, she risked her life for me, she was prepared to give up her life in the sun to marry me. How could I imagine that she would ever leave me?

She came into the lounge and walked straight into my arms. I had managed to acquire half a bottle of vodka from one of the human crew members since she had seemed to enjoy it in Tru Blood and I brought it out as a peace offering. Within half an hour we had retreated to the bedroom and she soon succeeded in banishing Rafi from my mind completely …….

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

She did, eventually manage to persuade me to talk to Rafi. I hated the idea but I forced myself to agree and she was right. I was never going to like the man, I thought him loud-mouthed and irritating and found his tattoo pretentious, but the conversation did clear the air a little and we were able to tolerate one another for her sake. I was relieved, however, when we arrived at Aswan and were able to head out into the desert alone. At first we saw other traffic and tourists as we rode past the relocated temples at Abu Simbel. She smiled at me, remembering the first time we had visited here when we had spent the night making love in a tent and even inside the temple itself. Once we got further out into the emptiness alongside the great lake which had been produced by the building of the High Aswan Dam, then at last I felt that she was truly mine alone, my lover, my wife, my child.

That night, for the first time since that terrible night when I turned her, we slept in the earth together. I knew that the very idea of it terrified her but I was determined that she must learn. I wanted so badly to be a good maker to her, to teach her what she needed to know so that she neeed not suffer as I had, but there was always that worm of doubt in my mind. After all, Lorena had held me with her by _not_ teaching me what I had to know. I still shuddered at the memory of that night in the brothel in New Orleans when I had first met Eric. He had been furious with her for not teaching me how to behave around older vampires. I had even felt a need to protect her from him but he treated me like a child, which in fact I was, at least to him. She embarrassed me and I could never forgive her for it. I was forced to stay with her not only due to her power over me as my maker but to my lack of knowledge, my lack of experience with other vampires. What if Alex, once she was able to cope on her own, decided that she didn’t need me any more?.......Just as I had done. 

Then I caught her watching me as I dug the grave we would use. I saw the fear in her eyes, but there was trust there too. She hated the idea of this, but she trusted me to take care of her. I stripped off my clothes and walked over to where she stood watching me. Drawing her into my arms I kissed her while I began to remove her clothing. I pulled her into my arms and down into the sand. I knew the sun was about to rise and that she would be pulled into sleep before me, being so much younger, so I made love to her gently and slowly. Soothing her fears with my body while murmuring reassurance to her as she slid into her daytime sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Just before sunrise the following night we sat in the same place together leaning against one of the camels waiting for the sun and talking about the events of the night. Alex was cuddled in my arms, the Heart of Eternity against her breast.

“So!” I said. “You’ve gone from office administrator to Librarian for the Authority to PA to a God! That’s some impressive career progression there!” 

I felt her slim body shaking in my arms as she laughed. “Oh don’t be silly!” she whispered. “That’ll never happen.”

“Oh…..never say never!” I said. “As you pointed out, no-one expected vampires to emerge from the shadows of myth and legend…. It might not happen anytime soon but it could do, some day, and somehow I feel your friend Sobek isn’t the type to forget you!”

“Well let’s hope your friend Bast doesn’t decide the same thing!” she remarked acidly.

“I wouldn’t worry about that if I were you. I think Lily scared her off for good” I answered, hugging her tighter and fervently hoping that it was true. 

She put her head on my shoulder. “It’s strange” she said thoughtfully, “Everyone thinks of cats as cute and cuddly and yet Bast was a right selfish bitch. Crocodiles are probably the last animal you’d think of as being friendly and yet Sobek was rather nice I thought….perfectly reasonable…..for a God!”

“I suspect most cats are pretty selfish” I said. “They’re probably only tolerating humans until they work out how to open the cans themselves!”

She giggled. “I can’t imagine what might happen if humans realised that all their ancient Gods were real, and that a lot of them might still be around.” 

I smiled to myself, she was beginning to think of ‘humans’ as being separate from us. That was one of the first steps to accepting what she had become.

 

The next evening we rode into Aswan and back to the docks. The Heart of Eternity and the golden sceptre were safely packed away in our baggage as we rode down to the docks below the Old Cataract Hotel opposite the end of Elephantine Island. The settlement of Aswan was founded at the first cataract and the river divides into several branches and winds around three large islands and numerous smaller ones. 

The Breath of Osiris was tied neatly to the dock waiting for us and as we approached I saw the old Arab get up from a seat in the shade and come over to us. The two camels stretched their necks out towards him to be petted and he murmured something to them in Arabic. They shuffled their feet and knelt down in the dust enabling us to dismount. The old man grinned at us, revealing several missing teeth, obviously delighted to get his camels back unharmed.

I gave him a little nod of thanks. “Shukran!”.

His grin widened, revealing a few more gaps. I caught a movement out of the corner of my eye and suddenly Rafi appeared on the dock before us, he had swung himself over the top rail and leaped down. The old man jumped back, obviously shocked and I gave Rafi a disapproving look as I began to help Alex unload the bags and carry them on board. I looked back to see him grinning to himself as he pulled a wad of currency from his pocket and began to count out notes and hand them to the old man.


	25. Chapter 25

Alex and I carried the bags into the upper lounge and sat down to relax for a moment. I could see that the excitement of her find was beginning to wear off and she looked tired so I got up and went into the en-suite bathroom which contained a reasonable sized bath. I turned on the taps and went back to the lounge.

“Let’s put these bags away shall we?” I said, picking up both of the leather saddlebags and taking them into the bedroom. Alex followed me in and sat down on the bed while I reached into the bags and took out the golden sceptre and the Heart of Eternity. There was a small safe in the bedroom, fortunately just wide enough to take the sceptre. I put both of our prizes in the safe and locked it, then slung the bags into the bottom of a cupboard. By this time the bath was full and I turned to see that Alex had headed straight into the bathroom leaving an interesting trail of clothing on the floor for me to follow…..

“Mind if I join you?” I asked softly.

“Mmm…..I think there’s just room for two, if you’re prepared to snuggle up a little?” She smiled up at me.

“I plan to snuggle up a little regardless of how much room there is!” I said, climbing into the bath. I sat down behind her, my legs on either side of her, and pulled her back into my arms. She leaned back, resting her head on my shoulder and sighed.

“I swear I’ve still got sand behind my ears” she murmured.

“Let’s take a look shall we?” I answered, squeezing some soap into my hands. I lifted the heavy mass of dark hair from her neck and began to gently soap her shoulders, working my thumbs into the muscles at the back of her neck and up into her hair. I could feel her muscles relaxing as she melted into my arms, the smooth skin of her back against my chest. Our flesh had begun to absorb the heat of the bathwater and the pressure of her neat rounded buttocks against my thighs was beginning to have a predictable effect on me. As I shifted uncomfortably, my hand sliding down her back to adjust myself into a more comfortable position, I could feel her laughter vibrating through my body. She got up on her knees and leaned forward with her arms on the marble surround of the bath. The bath was small but deep, the water coming up to the top of her thighs and as I sat back gazing in admiration at her perfect bottom I felt the water shift as The Breath of Osiris moved out into the Nile and headed north.

I braced my knees against the side of the bath and raised myself up behind her. Her flesh felt warm from the hot water and smooth and slippery from the bath oils. I slipped my hands over her hips, rubbing my fingers down between her thighs as I leaned forwards, burying my face in the waterfall of dark wavy hair flowing down her back. She wriggled back against me with a sigh.

“Mmm......you feel so warm” she murmured. 

“Makes a nice change?” I whispered as I slipped a finger into her welcoming warmth, testing her gently, rubbing my fingertips over her soft slippery flesh.

She gave a little sigh, leaning forward and resting her head on her arms, waiting. I wanted to take my time with her tonight but I wasn't sure that I could hold out for that long. I was so hard I could feel my stiff member rubbing against my stomach and already I was aching for release. I slid two fingers inside her, stretching her gently and opening her ready for me. As my fingers moved slowly within her she started to make little moaning sounds and pushed back against me, the water surging and swirling at every movement of our bodies. 

Suddenly I felt that I could bear it no longer. I withdrew my fingers drawing a little cry of loss and disappointment from her lips and grasped her hips, pushing my hard member across her slippery folds until it slipped inside her of its own accord. I gave a cry of triumph and thrust myself deeply into her, my fingers digging into her hips as I struggled to slow down, pulling out and then pushing back in slowly and delicately, teasing her. I pulled myself upright and looked down at her slick flesh taking me in, hearing her ragged cries echoing around the small, marble lined bathroom.

I bent forward over her, breathing in the perfume of her hair and running my tongue across her shoulders until the mixture of the sounds of her arousal, the taste and scent of her fogged my senses with a dizzying pleasure and I exploded inside her driving her to her own climax.

I relaxed back into the bathwater, pulling her into my lap. She lay in my arms, dazed and murmuring dreamily to herself then she sighed and stood up. Reaching for a towel I wrapped it around her slim body as she took my hand and led me back out of the bathroom. I scooped her up into my arms and walked out of the bathroom putting her down on the thick wool carpet in the bedroom. Just at that moment the boat gave a lurch and, unbalanced, she lost her footing and fell back against the leather padded wall. I pounced on her, kissing her and pressing her up against the wall until I felt her arms slide around my neck and her hands move up into my damp hair.

I let go of the towel which slid, unnoticed, to the floor and reached down, tucking my hands under her shapely buttocks and lifting her up, still pressed against the wall. Her tongue never paused for a second but I felt her legs curl around my hips as I held her pinned like a butterfly on a board. She wriggled, grinding her hips against me and I felt myself stiffening again as though my flesh was reaching for her, straining to be inside her once more. I shifted one hand until my fingers touched my hard manhood, still wet and slippery with her juices, and pushed it upwards until the swollen head slid inside her entrance. Immediately I braced my bare feet on the carpet and pushed myself into her deeper and harder, rewarded by a little moan into my mouth which drove my senses into a mindless haze of lust.

Afterwards I carried her to the bed and began apologising again, afraid that I had hurt her. I knew that I hadn't, that she wasn't the delicate mortal she had once been but somehow, to me she would always be that frightened girl who had fallen into my arms in the bookshop that night......my Alex......my precious love.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

We spent the remainder of the night making love. Bill joined me in the bath and we moved on from there.......

I had known that vampires had a prodigious appetite for sex but I hadn't really understood what it meant until I was turned. To know something intellectually and to actually experience it are two very different things. Oh, I had known that Bill held himself tightly in check as he didn't wish to hurt me but I had not appreciated quite how much he had sacrificed for me.

I lay in his arms on the bed, his lips nuzzling at my shoulder as he whispered into my ear. “Are you okay? I didn't hurt you?”

“You know I'm going to have to pinch you again if you keep that up!” I whispered back. “If I'm not okay, you'll know, believe me!”

Reassured, he took me over and over again until my flesh was swollen and bruised and yet my body still ached for him. I clung to him, murmuring encouragement as he plunged into me, taking me hard and fiercely, snarling and growling over my body and then relaxing, taking me slowly and gently until I moaned in frustration and begged him for more. We explored each other's bodies, feeding from each other until my body felt like a pincushion and I drove Bill into screaming, thrashing ecstacy by licking along the length of his rigid manhood, curling my tongue around it until he was writhing with pleasure and then biting into the soft flesh of his inner thigh and sucking down his thick, rich blood, while he convulsed against me.

Even as the dawn approached I couldn't get enough of him and we rocked against each other, our bodies locked together, as we slipped into the darkness of our daytime sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Our trip back to Cairo was uneventful. Bill and I relaxed, enjoying each other’s company until we reached Luxor where we met up again with Lilith, Berenice and Omar. On the second night Bill look me to the little valley beyond Deir-el-Bahri and we stood at the base of the cliff where he had stood so long ago with Berenice.

“The Shrine is in the cliffs above us” he said, taking my hand. “Now I’m going to show you something surprising about me!”

I laughed. “You mean there’s something about you I don’t know?”

Bill looked a little guilty. “Well, I would have told you…..but I needed to get used to it myself and somehow, well it just never came up. Somehow the power that Lilith left with me seems to have been getting stronger, or perhaps I’m just learning to use it…..”

He stepped closer and put an arm around me pulling me tight against his body. “Ready?” he asked.

“You know me sweetheart” I whispered, looking up into his eyes. “I was born ready!”

We both laughed and I guess that was why I didn’t realise quite what was happening until we were about six feet off the ground.

“Whoa!” I squeaked, grabbing his waist. “Bill! You’re flying!”

He grinned at me. “I can leap tall buildings at a single bound!” In moments we were standing on a ledge halfway up the cliff face. 

I punched him on the shoulder. “Why didn’t you tell me this?”

“Well I wasn’t really aware of it myself until recently. I was coming out of the barn and I tripped and started to fall, then I stopped somehow and I was floating. It gave me a considerable shock I can tell you!” He grinned at me. “I’ve been practicing…..”

“So…..what else can you do?” I asked, curiously.

He looked thoughtful. “I’ve no idea really, but I could have all kinds of powers that I don’t even know about.” He pulled me closer and looked down at me. “And as my progeny, you have my blood….so you could have them too…..”

I glanced down over the edge of the cliff and Bill gripped me tighter. “Don’t you even think about it!” he growled. “We’ll need to talk about this later, when we get home.”

He turned me round so that I was facing the cliff and pointed out a fold in the rock.

“That’s the entrance? No wonder no-one ever found it!” I eased myself around the outcrop of rock and slipped into the narrow passage beyond. Bill was right behind me with a light and as we entered the passage I could see paintings on either side of us. They looked just like the figures I had seen painted on the walls of the ancient tombs but they were bright and clear as if they had been painted only yesterday. As I looked at them I noticed another difference. Whereas the skin of the figures in the tomb paintings were a reddish colour, the skin of these people was white, they had not spent their time under the hot Egyptian sun……they were vampires!

Bill put a hand on my shoulder. “You see it too don’t you?” he asked quietly. “It was the first thing I noticed when I came here.”

We walked slowly down the corridor and into a large chamber with a painting of the night sky on the ceiling. “You’ve seen the golden shrine in the Museum and the statue? Well they were in here, lit by oil lamps. The flickering light made the statue so lifelike that I though at first that it was alive!” He smiled at the memory.

“I was so young……and so curious. When I found out what Berenice was, who she was…..I simply had to come here and see it for myself. But I never believed that Lilith……that she was real. I kept my knowledge secret for a hundred years. I never told my maker what I knew, what I’d seen. And then……..” his voice faltered quietly to a halt.

I took both his hands in mine. “You had no control over what happened to you. It was just…… luck….. or fate….. Your past has made you what you are and I wouldn’t want you any other way. I would never wish you to be any less than you are. I love you Bill…..all of you…..I always have.”


	26. Chapter 26

As soon as we returned to Cairo, Bill arranged a meeting with Theophanes, told him what we had discovered and explained his plan to announce the discovery at the same time as Theophanes revealed the existence of his nest beneath the Giza plateau. He thought this was an excellent idea since, as Bill had thought, it would deflect attention from the vampires. 

“We have some contacts in the Department of Antiquities” he said. “I’ll arrange for a meeting in advance of the announcement so that you can explain what you’ve discovered.

So the very next evening I found myself in Theophanes’ rooms with Bill, Rahotep and Dr Zawi Hawass the head of the Egyptian Antiquities Service.

I explained the sequence of events which had led us to our discovery of the secret temple of Sobek and we brought out the Heart of Eternity and the golden sceptre for inspection. 

While Hawass examined the objects Rahotep turned to me. “You found this information in a scroll that came from one of the temples in Thebes?” he asked.

“It was in a crate in one of the storerooms in the Authority.” I explained. “According to Alberic's records it had been removed from one of the Theban temples in the late Ptolomaic period but it didn't say which one. The scroll was sealed, it had never been opened.”

“Where is this scroll now?” he asked.

“In the Library in London” I said. “You would be welcome to come and see it if you wish. There are many more unopened crates that should be checked. I'd appreciate any help you could give me?”

“That's a very generous offer Alexandra. I should like that very much, as would my assistant, if the offer extends to her as well?”

“Assistant?”

He smiled at me and nodded towards Dr Hawass. “Later!”

“This is a unique piece!” he was saying, examining the sceptre. “No example of a High Priest's sceptre has ever been found before......but this........” he reached out and picked up the Heart of Eternity. “This is magnificent! No record of it exists now, other than the scroll you found Mrs Compton.”

“I must admit that I wasn't sure we would even find the temple, much less be able to enter it” I said. “To excavate would require a dive team, or possible a coffer dam around the entrance. I'm sure Theophanes' people would be glad to assist you if you thought that they could help?”

Theophanes agreed hurriedly. “Yes, of course, anything we can do to assist you!”

 

After the meeting Rahotep invited us to his quarters for a drink. I was fascinated by his rooms which seemed plain and spartan in some ways, containing plain wooden furniture of the type I remembered seeing in museums and yet in other ways it was quite luxurious. I noticed a sizeable double bed in the far room, made up with the same crisp, white, Egyptian cotton sheets as we had in our quarters.

We sat on a comfortable padded couch and made polite conversation on the subject of the Library for a while. We had almost finished our drinks when Rahotep smiled at us and said. “You strike me as an unusual couple.”

Bill's eyebrows shot up. “Why unusual?” he asked.

“It is not…….usual……for one to marry one’s progeny?” said Rahotep delicately.

“Oh no…..she was mortal when she married me!” exclaimed Bill.

Rahotep glanced at me, trying not to look shocked. “And then you turned her?” he asked, with evident distaste.

Bill sighed. “It was…..complicated. For a century and a half I never turned anyone, I couldn’t bear the idea of it, of condemning someone else to endure the hell I had suffered, but Alex…..she was attacked and badly injured. She couldn’t have survived any other way and I couldn’t bear to lose her.” 

He looked at me and I could see the pain in his eyes. I reached over and took his hand. “He did the right thing!” I said firmly. “I couldn’t bear to lose him either.”

Rahotep smiled. “I see! In fact I sympathise with you. Soon after I was turned, I turned someone……someone I loved. But sadly she was unable to cope with our existence and she grew to hate me for depriving her of her afterlife. She did not survive and I vowed that I would never do such a thing again. But there……you should never make such a vow as you cannot know what will happen in your future. After the revelation I met a young woman who was curious about us, who wanted to be turned. The old beliefs in the afterlife were long gone but I was wary. I told her I would not do this to her, but she persisted and as I grew to know her better I came to believe that she was sincere.” He paused for a moment. “And so I turned her. Now she lives here with us and is one of my most treasured assistants.”

Somehow I felt sure that she was more than that but I kept quiet out of respect for him. If Rahotep wished to tell me more of their relationship, then he would do so in good time.

“I should love to meet her!” I said.

“Of course!” he smiled. “She’s away at the moment but will be returning for the announcement.”

 

The announcement was arranged for Saturday evening at the Mena Palace Hotel which was in Giza close to the Pyramids. A large ballroom was to be made available for us and a big party was arranged for the vampires from the Cairo nest, the people from the Antiquities Department and the press. Gerry flew out from London to assist with the publicity and brought Susie who, as a journalist, was extremely helpful to him and was so excited at the thought of the party that she didn’t want to be left behind!

We had packed fairly lightly as we weren’t expecting a big gala event but I had brought my grey evening dress and the ruby necklace that Bill had given me so I decided that I’d be fine.

By this time I had met Amina, Rahotep's progeny, a surprisingly modern Egyptian girl whose long black hair and big dark eyes reminded me irresistibly of Azaria.

On the big night Susie, Amina and I left the nest together. Rahotep was wearing his usual white linen robes and I was struck again by his strong resemblance to the carvings we had passed on the walls of the underground chambers. Bill and Gerry had hired dinner suits and both looked incredibly handsome in them. I slipped my hand through Bill’s arm and he smiled down at me as we walked down the path from the Sphinx towards the Hotel. As soon as we got close I could see TV cameras and press everywhere. There were half a dozen vans outside the hotel entrance with thick black cabling snaking everywhere and several security men were pushing people back beyond a rope and arguing with them.

We ran a gauntlet of flashing press cameras as we walked into the hotel and I noticed that Rahotep was getting a lot of attention. I wasn’t surprised really considering that he looked like one of the Ancient Egyptians come back to life, which, in effect of course, he was. I had noticed that, although it was sometimes quite difficult to tell the age of vampires when they were in modern dress, they tended to have little touches like silks or velvets or patterns which gave you clues as to the era in which they had lived. Bill, for example, was partial to military style jackets and items in grey, which reminded him of his time in the Confederate Army. Rahotep, in contrast, dressed exactly as he always had done and looked exactly what he had been, a priest from the Temple of Amun in Thebes. The photographers just loved that!

He treated them with a positively regal disdain and swept past with the lovely Amina on his arm. Bill and I followed him with Gerry and Susie behind us and managed to pass almost unnoticed until Dr Hawass, larger than life in his trademark bush hat spotted us and escorted us up to the large podium which had been erected at one end of the ballroom. Theophanes was already there with another vampire I didn’t know but I recognised vaguely from our last visit to Cairo. I guessed that he was a representative of the Authority. Cameras and microphones had already been set up and as we arrived on the platform Dr Hawass, who appeared to have taken over the press conference, tapped one of the microphones and began speaking.

Bill leaned down and whispered in my ear, “I don’t think Theophanes is too happy to be upstaged like this.”

“He shouldn’t worry” I whispered back. “Dr Hawass is a great showman, it might be best if the press remember him rather than any of us anyway….”

The Egyptian Archaeologist was describing his amazement when he was shown the entrance behind the elbow of the Great Sphinx and was given a tour of just a small proportion of the chambers and passages below the plateau. He introduced Theophanes as the leader of the vampires who had lived in these chambers for thousands of years since they were created during the rule of the Old Kingdom Pharaohs Khufu and Kephren and then went on to describe another amazing discovery, that of a lost temple beyond Aswan, far to the south.

“You’re up!” whispered Bill.

“Wish me luck!”

I stepped closer to the microphone and was introduced to the waiting press as the Authority’s Librarian. I explained as concisely as I could the sequence of events leading to the discovery of the temple. I described how Bill and I had found the probable location and had swum down and entered the temple. The background hum of whispers fell silent as I described our dive through the submerged stone passage and into the ancient crocodile pool. I spoke of everything that had happened that night, only leaving out the appearance of Sobek. 

As I finished Dr Hawass nodded to someone to the back of the podium and a spotlight appeared, picking out a large glass case covered by a velvet curtain. With a flourish, he pulled on a cord which raised the curtain to reveal a figure within the case. It was a modern model of one of the statues of Sobek and, all things considered, it was remarkably like him. He wore the same short white kilt and had reed sandals on his bare feet. The painted crocodile head was considerable less impressive than the real thing but no-one really noticed that as all eyes were fixed on the two artefacts on the figure. Around his neck was hung the heart of Eternity and in his right hand he held the sceptre of the High Priest.

I was instantly forgotten in the glare of flashes as everyone tried to photograph the artefacts and I sidled back across the stage until I felt Bill take my hand and squeeze it comfortingly.

“Well done!” he murmured. “Now let's go and get a drink shall we?”

We slipped, almost unnoticed off the stage and over to the bar where Gerry was already ordering Royalty Blends, all round.

Theophanes was standing beside him at the bar. “Well, I'm cautiously optimistic!” he said with a smile. “Thanks to your discovery, which completely overshadowed the fact that we vampires have been living here for centuries, it seemed to go off without any problems.”


	27. Chapter 27

I’ve never been quite so proud of Alex as when she stood on that podium and explained to the crowd of press and TV cameras how she had deciphered Amanet’s scroll. When she described how we had swum down the cliff and through the tunnel into the hidden temple a hush fell over the ballroom as they were all swept up in her dramatic story. I stood off to one side watching her, not wanting to detract from her moment of fame. This was her achievement after all, I had simply assisted her. She looked stunning, her long black hair flowing down her back and her grey eyes shining with excitement. Her initial nervousness had quickly disappeared as she began to talk but I knew that she would rather Dr Hawass take any questions and so as soon as the spotlight came onto the case containing the artefacts themselves and the attention of the press was distracted I took her hand and we sneaked off to the bar.

Gerry, as usual, had beaten us to it and was ordering Royalty Blend to celebrate. 

“I’m obviously paying you too much if you can afford that stuff!” I said with a laugh.

“You’re going to turn it down?” he asked, grinning back at me and holding out a glass.

“Not a chance! I’m paying for it after all!” I took the glass and passed it to Alex. 

Gerry passed me another glass and handed Susie a gin and tonic. “I’d like to propose a toast to the Authority’s Librarian!” he announced. “Not only is she beautiful, but she has intelligence and courage as well! You’re a lucky man Bill!” He touched his glass to mine and we both drank.

We laid claim to a couple of couches around a table in the corner of the bar where Rahotep and Amina joined us and we relaxed chatting amongst ourselves. Theophanes left us after congratulating Alex again on her discovery and, after a while, the three girls got up and headed out of the ballroom to ‘powder their noses’. Gerry, Rahotep and I were engrossed in conversation until Gerry glanced at his watch and said “what’s happened to those girls! I’ll bet they’re just gossiping in there!”

“It beats me why they all have to go at once” I said with a smile. “They’re probably just comparing shades of lipstick!”

As I spoke I felt a jolt of fear and I sat up suddenly. Gerry and Rahotep were both looking at me oddly. “Did you feel that?” asked Gerry.

“Yes!” I answered and Rahotep nodded. He’d felt it too.

Gerry looked puzzled. “How much trouble could they get into in a bathroom?”

I tried to feel for Alex through the bond but the noise and disturbance in the ballroom made it hard to concentrate. I got up, an uneasy feeling crawling over my skin. “I’m going to take a look!”

The three of us began to work our way out of the crowded ballroom but the door was at the far side and it took a while for us to get out. We headed down the corridor towards the ladies bathrooms. The signs pointed us down several thickly carpeted corridors until we were well out of range of the crowded press conference. As we turned the final corner I noticed a fire door leading out to the rear of the Hotel which was jammed open and to my horror I saw the door to the ladies room was smashed and hanging off its hinges. Needless to say the room was empty, but as I looked in I caught a familiar scent. Blood! Human blood! Gerry smelt it too and pushed past me. The white marble surround of the sinks had an ominous red smear across it.

Gerry leaned over it and inhaled sharply. “Susie! That’s Susie’s blood! What the hell’s happened here?”

I looked around and caught a flash of something on the floor in the corner of the room. Crouching down I saw what looked like a cluster of metal rings. Without thinking I reached down and picked them up.

Pain burned into my fingertips and I dropped it with a yelp. “Ow!! Damn it!” I reached into my pocket and pulled out a pair of nail scissors, using them to carefully lift the metal rings. A fragment of what looked like chain mail hung from the scissors, the links at the edges bent and broken as if they had been torn loose from a larger piece. 

“It’s silver” I whispered. “Part of some kind of net……my God! They’ve been kidnapped!”

Just then there was a buzzing noise and Rahotep reached into a pocket and pulled out a phone. He flipped it open and listened for a moment then snapped something in Arabic which sounded very much like a curse. Gerry and I stared at him.

“That was Theophanes” he said, staring at the phone in shock. “He says he has something we need to see, something was left for him at the front desk, he’s on his way.”

Seconds later there was a blur at the door and Theophanes appeared. “What the devil’s going on?” he asked turning to Rahotep. “Where’s Amina……..and Alexandra?” he looked around wildly. “What happened here?”

“They appear to have been kidnapped” I said, remarkably calmly given the circumstances. “What was left at the front desk?”

He handed me a sheet of paper and I felt a cold panic grip my heart as I read it, Rahotep and Gerry peering over my shoulders.

_“This is only the beginning. Were you really so foolish or so arrogant as to think that you could overrun the earth and we wouldn't fight back?_

_At least we may be able to use your women for some purpose, in fact I have a buyer for them, but you.......we will hunt you down until we have wiped the scourge of vampirism from the earth._

_We are the vampire hunters and we will hunt you down and destroy you all!_

_Lucas Carlsson”_

Rahotep had turned to Theophanes and was questioning him angrily. “What happened to our security Theo? I thought this place was supposed to be secure?”

“All the security was concentrated on the other side of the hotel, where the artefacts are being held! No one imagined that.....how did they get in? In fact how did they even know about the press conference?”

“They had a man on the inside” I said. “In the press team or the Antiquities Department, they were the only ones with advance notice.”

“How can you possibly know that?” snapped Theophanes.

“They didn't need to break in” I explained. “That fire door was obviously opened from the inside!”

Gerry reached over my shoulder and took the paper from me. “Hey! I've heard of this guy! He advertises his services on anti-vampire websites......the Fellowship of the Sun, The Warriors of Ra, that kind of thing!”

He looked up from the paper. “But why would they take Susie? She's not a vampire!”

“I suspect that Susie was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.” I said quietly.

“So what are we going to do Bill? This guy is dangerous!”

“Dangerous is he?” I said coldly. “Calls himself a vampire hunter?” At the thought of my Alex in the hands of this man a deep and primal wave of savagery burned through me. I wanted to tear into him with my fangs, rip him apart, feel his bones breaking under my hands. I turned to the others with a snarl. 

“I'm going to show that fucker what it means to be hunted!”


	28. Chapter 28

Susie got up and excused herself for a moment and I decided I needed to touch up my lipstick and stood up to accompany her.

Then Amina rose hesitantly. “Umm…..do you mind if I join you?”

“Sure….come on” I held out a hand to her and, to my amusement, she leaned down and planted a kiss on top of Rahotep’s bald head. We hurried out of the ballroom and as soon as we got through the door I began to giggle at the thought of the pink mark of a pair of lips on the stern looking librarian's skin.

“You’ll have to wipe that off as soon as we get back!” I laughed. “It detracts from his dignified appearance don’t you think?”

We found our way to the nearest bathroom and Susie headed into a cubicle. I reached into my bag for a lipstick and began to apply a fresh coat. Amina leaned on the sinks and watched me. 

“That’s a lovely colour” she said. “Do you think it would suit me?”

I considered her colouring and reached into my handbag. Believe me, being turned had not affected my propensity to buy lipsticks in the slightest! “Try this one” I offered. “It’ll look better with your darker skin colour.”

She leaned forward towards the mirror and carefully applied a coat of the plum coloured lipstick. “Oohh! That’s great! I must get one of these!”

I sniffed at the air for a moment. “What’s that perfume you’re wearing? It’s lovely!”

“Do you like it?” she asked, obviously pleased.

“Hmm…..It’s quite heavy…..almost like incense?”

“Well actually…..Rahotep made it specially for me. He says it’s similar to the perfumes that they burned in the Temples before the statues of the Gods…..” she paused and I saw a slight blush “……and I should have it because I am his Goddess.”

“Ooooh! The old romantic! Who’d have thought it!” I smiled at her. “That’s so sweet of him.”

Susie had come out of the cubicle and was washing her hands. “He looks a bit intimidating at first, but he seems really nice…”

“Oh he is!” said Amina. “People are a little intimidated at first by his looks and his great age, but he’s really sweet when you get to know him. I’m sure he’d make some for you if I asked him?”

“Do you think he would?” I asked. “He might want it to be just for you.”

“Oh I’m sure he would! He likes you!”

Just then the door opened and three other girls came in. All three were vampires, two were dark and I thought I recognised one of them from the nest. The third was a stunning blonde with the slightly arrogant expression of one who knows she is older and more powerful than her companions. I guessed they must have come in just to gossip and touch up their makeup, just as we had. We smiled at them and headed for the door but before we could reach it, it opened and a man came in. I was so surprised to see a man in the Ladies Room that I didn’t even notice that he had a gun in his hands.

“Hey! What are you doing in here?” said Susie indignantly. 

And that was pretty much the last thing I remembered clearly. I heard a slight noise and felt a sharp pain in my neck as though I had been stung by a wasp. I put up my hand to brush it off and saw a dart in my neck. He’d shot me! In seconds my vision began to blur as another man came in behind him and raised a metal tube to his shoulder. The next thing I knew, Amina and I were entangled in some kind of net. I knew it was silver from the searing pain where it touched my skin but just at that point I must have passed out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When I came round I could feel a swaying motion and for a moment I imagined myself back on the Breath of Osiris with Bill's strong arms around me in the bathtub. Then I opened my eyes and found myself lying on a metal floor alongside Amina and one of the other girls. My skin felt as though it was on fire and I looked down at my arm to see a pattern of thin red lines on my skin where the silver had touched it. The side of Amina's face bore a similar checkerboard pattern of lines but the net was being held above us. I looked around to see Susie holding it with outstretched arms.

“Alex! Are you okay?” she whispered. “I've been trying to keep the net off your skin but my arms are aching and I can't find anything to prop it up with. Besides........” she glanced over to our right and I saw a man in camouflage gear sitting, watching us. There was a gun of some kind lying on the floor next to him. I was no ballistics expert but it looked like some kind of automatic and I had a nasty suspicion that it wasn't loaded with ordinary ammunition, but wooden or silver bullets. Whoever these guys were, they seemed to know what they were doing and were obviously well equipped to deal with vampires.

“Evenin' ladies” he grinned at us. “I see your little pet there's looking after you. She wasn't part of the job, but then......” he gave a shrug “......if you will hang out with vamps......”

At the sound of his voice one of the other girls snarled and tried to fling herself at him. However all she succeeded in doing was dragging the net from Susie's hands and down over our skin.

“Ow! Damn it, keep still you idiot! You're just making it worse!” I yelled.

The man laughed. “I'd listen to her if I were you. She seems to have some common sense.” He leaned back against a bulkhead and smiled. “Just keep quiet and do as you're told and you won't get hurt. Lucas wants you in one piece.....he's negotiated a good price for you.”

I heard the girl hiss with pain and she settled down again. A price? They'd sold us? I just hated to even think what someone might want us for.

“Where are we?” I asked Susie quietly. Wherever it was, it was noisy, cold and uncomfortable. I could hear a loud regular thumping which, at first, I had imagined was my throbbing head.

“I think we're in a helicopter” she whispered.

Of course! That explained everything. But where could they be taking us.....and why?


	29. Chapter 29

We lay curled up in the corner trying not to let the jolting of the helicopter push the net into contact with our skin. Susie struggled manfully to keep it off Amina and myself and we lost track of the time completely.

Then suddenly we seemed to stop and then drop out of the air. I had never been in a helicopter before but I guessed that the feeling of going down rapidly in a fast elevator meant that we were landing. There was a slight bump and then, after a moment the thumping of the rotors stopped and a door in what must have been some kind of cargo hold opened. We peered outside suspiciously to see three armed men. 

“Well come on ladies. What are you waiting for?” Our lone guard stood up and gestured towards the open doorway. “I'm going to take that net off you and you're all going to climb out like good little girls.” He held up the automatic. “This is loaded with wood and silver bullets and, although we'd rather get you there in one piece, our customer would still pay for a pool of vampire blood so don't think I won't use it!”

He came over and pulled the net off roughly. It brushed over our skin but we all gritted our teeth and said nothing, knowing that he'd done it deliberately and not wanting to give him the satisfaction of witnessing our pain. We climbed out of the helicopter, not without some difficulty since we were all wearing evening dresses, and I looked around to see that we were on an island in a broad river. The bank that I could see was shallow and sandy, climbing gently to a rocky escarpment with dense jungle at the top.

I turned to look at the first of the armed men who had come over to escort us. He was a good six feet tall and heavily muscled, his bare arms covered with tattoos. He pushed us onto a narrow path and walked alongside us. He was carrying one of the automatics that all the guards had, but he also had a thick file under his arm with a stiff cover. There was something stencilled on the cover.....I glanced at it quickly. 'Chevalier Pharmaceuticals'. A drug company? What on earth could they want with us?

They hustled us up the narrow pathway through some low scrub bushes until we turned a corner and saw a long low building ahead of us. This was obviously where we were heading and we were directed down a corridor and into a well equipped laboratory. A man in a white lab coat was sitting at a computer typing and he looked up as we came in.

“Ah, excellent! Put them over there.” He gestured to the far end of the long room which I saw, to my horror, was composed of a large barred cell. As soon as we got close I could tell that the bars were at least plated with silver and the tattooed man opened the door and shoved us unceremoniously inside, locking the door behind us.

“There you go Dr Malik!” he said proudly. “Just as you requested.”

The man in the lab coat came up to the bars and looked us over like some livestock he was considering for purchase.

“They're all females Lucas!” he said, turning to the big tattooed man “and one isn't even vampire! How to you expect me to conduct my research properly without a male specimen?”

There was a snigger from behind Lucas “I'm sure we could help you out there doctor!” said one of the guards with a salacious smile. 

He turned to look at him. “Hmm......yes. That could be an interesting experiment Ray I'll throw you in there with them and see how long you survive! You idiot!” he snapped. “I need a male vampire for my studies! You assured me that you were professionals, hunters who could acquire what I needed.....”

“We'll get you one, don't worry!” said Lucas glaring at Ray “Just give us a couple more days until the nest has calmed down a bit.”

Somehow I suspected that it would take more than a few days for Bill to calm down. I had felt the exact moment when he realised what had happened. A wave of fury had enveloped me, so powerful it had run out my fangs. Lucas clearly had no idea of the trouble he was in. 

“What shall we do with the human girl?” he asked.

Dr Malik turned and looked back over his shoulder. “Leave her in there with them” he ordered callously. “It’ll save us having to feed them.”

He walked out and Lucas followed him. I caught a glimpse of two armed men outside the door before he closed it behind him.

We stood and stared at each other for a moment. Then the blond girl, who seemed to assume she was in charge, stepped forward. “Okay, I'm Louisa. You're Alexandra Compton right? The one who found the temple? Who's your friend?”

“This is Amina” I said. “And this is Susie.”

Louisa looked surprised. “Susie huh? I've got news for you dear. She won't be in here long enough to require me to learn her name.” 

She licked her lips. “That’s what they put her in here for right?” she asked, looking around. “She’s food. And I’m hungry sweetie so I advise you to get out of my way!”

Susie cowered back against the bars and I stepped in front of her. “She’s my friend and you won’t lay a finger on her, understand?” Rather to my surprise Amina stepped up beside me.

“Oh come on love! I’m older than both of you put together. We need our strength if we’re going to get out of here so don’t tell me you’re going to risk getting hurt just for some breather?”

“Oh I’m not the one who’s going to get hurt!” I warned.

Louisa laughed and began to walk across the cell towards us. I glared at her, drawing in all my anger and protective instinct towards Susie and concentrating in it my hand. Louisa didn’t even pause so I flung up my hand and a ball of blue light shot out and hit her full in the chest throwing her back against the bars on the other side of the cell. She shrieked and fell forward onto the floor, the backs of her bare arms and legs striped with blistering burns from the silver covering the bars. The other two girls backed away as I stalked over to her, still furious, my right hand glowing with a pale blue flame.

I stood over her and looked down. “You ever try that again and I swear I’ll hold you pinned against those bars until your back looks like a well done steak on a barbecue! Got that!”

She nodded weakly and struggled upright just as the door to the laboratory opened and one of the guards came in. “Hey! Cut that out! Dr Malik won’t like it if you start fighting amongst yourselves. He wants you in one piece, don’t make me come in there!”

Louisa glanced at me. “Oh please do, you’d be very welcome!” She smiled invitingly at him, but he had enough sense to keep away.

When he had left and closed the door behind him she turned to me. “If he’d opened the cell door…….could you have done that to him?” she asked.

“Probably” I answered thoughtfully, “but I’m not sure about the rest of them……”

She gave a sigh “Okay…..no-one touches Susie!”

Susie was shivering in a corner of the cell. I turned to look at her and then glanced down at the long skirt of my dress. If we were ever going to get out of here I wouldn’t be able to run in this. I hated to do it but I took the hem in my hands and tore the soft grey jersey material up the side to the hip. This was the dress I had bought to accompany Bill to Amsterdam, the very first time I had ever travelled with him. With tears in my eyes I ripped the skirt around just above my knees and wrapped the long strip of material around Susie’s shoulders. I swore to myself that I would make them pay for this!

She looked up at me sadly. “Oh Alex! Your beautiful dress!”

“It’s just a dress….” I said, kneeling down in front of her. “It’s more important that you keep warm.”

I tucked the material around her shoulders. “Don’t worry Susie, we’re going to get out of here! You know Bill and Gerry will be coming for us don’t you?”

“But how on earth will they know where we are? Even we don’t know that!” she whispered.

“They’ll find us, I’m sure of it. Bill has resources that no one else possesses, trust me!”


	30. Chapter 30

“I have resources that none of you possess!” I growled. “Trust me, I can find them!”

We were in the main entrance hall of the underground chambers beneath the Sphinx. The great chamber was crowded with vampires, their pale, shocked faces lit by the flickering braziers, not only the Cairo nest but many others who had been invited to the reception by the Department of Antiquities. The reception had broken up in disarray after the discovery of the kidnapping, the humans heading back into Cairo. Dr Hawass had been horrified and insisted that he would notify his contacts in the army to help in the search if we could give him a location.

But Thephanes' head of security, Gregory and his team had drawn a blank. The kidnappers had taken boats and headed south…..that was as much as he could give us.

“These guys are good! They’re professionals! Mercenaries!” He snapped, obviously embarrassed at his failure to track them.

“So why would they want Alex, Susie and Amina Why not Berenice? She’s far more important to you……Who are they working for and why?” I asked.

As to why, their leader, this Lucas Carlsson, obviously hates vampires…..and they’re getting paid! But by who? I’ve no idea.” He said. “Perhaps your ‘resources’ will be able to find out for you!”

“Well let’s see shall we?” I said, rubbing the opal in my ring with two fingertips.

“You’re going to call a genii?” asked Gregory sarcastically.

“Not quite!” 

As I spoke I saw the familiar blurring in the air before me and Queen Mab stepped out. Tonight she was wearing white. At least, it appeared white at first glance, a match for her flowing white hair, but when she moved there appeared flashes of blue, green and violet like the flecks of colour in deep ice. She ignored the cries of shock and the hustling of vampires trying to back away and walked calmly over to me, leaning forward to kiss me gently on the cheek.

“William, my dear! It’s been a while.” She turned to Lilith who was standing just behind me and nodded politely. “My Lady!”

“My Lady” answered Lilith, equally politely.

Mab looked around her curiously. “What can I do for you William?” she asked.

“I’m afraid I need your assistance my Lady, if you would be so kind? Our Reception tonight was attacked and several of our women were kidnapped for some purpose which we don’t yet understand. Alex was one of them.”

Mab’s eyes widened. “You know I cannot interfere in your world William, much as I would like to help you.”

“You need not interfere my Lady. Only tell me where I can find her! I will do the rest!” My fangs had slid out at the thought of Alex’s captors and Mab gave a cold little smile and closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them her strange opalescent eyes held a trace of puzzlement. “I cannot feel her!” she said.

My dead heart gave a lurch but I knew she was not dead. I could still feel her faintly. “What does that mean?” I asked.

“The fae in her blood calls to me, I can tell where she is by her touch on the earth, but there is nothing, she is not in contact with the earth.” 

I considered this for a moment. “On the river maybe?”

“No, my water fae would have let me know.”

“An aircraft then, a helicopter perhaps?” I turned to Gregory and raised a quizzical eyebrow.

“Could be! They could have taken a fast boat across the river and picked up a helicopter anywhere on the west bank” he answered, eyeing Mab suspiciously.

“When she sets foot again upon the earth I will know” pronounced Mab firmly.

At this point Rahotep, who had been standing to one side listening with growing impatience, stepped forward. “Pardon me my Lady, but will you be able to tell who is with her?”

Mab turned her cold gaze on him and I stepped forward hurriedly. “Rahotep, my friend, this is Queen Mab of the Winter Fae, the Queen of Air and Darkness.” I put a hand on his arm. “My Lady, this is Rahotep the Librarian of Egypt, his progeny was also taken.”

Mab relaxed a little and her harsh gaze became a little more sympathetic. “When I find her I shall be able to see through her eyes” she explained. “If others are with her, I will know!” She turned back to me. “I must leave you William. I will return when I have some information for you.”

Before I could thank her she had faded and disappeared. 

There was silence for about five seconds and then uproar broke out among the assembled vampires, some arguing about what they had seen, others apparently simply unable to believe the evidence of their own eyes. I saw Rafi grinning at me. He, at least, had some idea of what had just happened and he appeared delighted to have witnessed it.

I turned to Theophanes “They can’t stay in the air for long, Queen Mab will be back as soon as she has any information and we need to be ready to move out.”

Gerry was by my side in an instant. “I’m with you Bill! Can we sort out some weapons?”

Rahotep took my arm. “They have Amina. I was a priest, not a soldier but I’ll come with you if you’ll have me?”

I seemed to take charge instinctively. I don’t know if it was my obvious need to find Alex or my training in the Army but the others followed my lead without question, even Rafi and his friends who insisted on accompanying us. We quickly changed into more suitable clothing and then Theophanes led us to the armoury where we each selected weapons which we felt suited us. Gerry and I each chose a long bladed knife in a leather sheath which reminded me of the bayonets I had carried during the war. Gerry took two modern automatic pistols and I took one of these plus a long barrelled rifle.

As we were belting on the guns the door opened and a figure entered which I didn’t recognise for a moment. It was Rahotep, but instead of his customary white linen robe he wore a pair of cargo pants and desert boots with a black T shirt, his bald head, hooked nose and kohl lined eyes seeming incongruous somehow. He belted on a vicious looking curved sword after testing the weight by twirling his wrist a couple of times in a highly efficient manner.

“I thought you said you were never a soldier?” I asked with a smile. “That looks pretty professional to me!”

He smiled back. “We had to be able to defend ourselves! I was never actually in the army though.”

Just then there was a flash of light and Mab appeared beside me. Her white hair stood out around her head like a halo and her eyes were completely white, occasional flickers of blue and green appearing as she spoke.

“I see her William! She is on an island......and there are others with her.”

We stood around her silently as she described what Alex could see. There were five other girls with her, one human, Susie, and four other vampires, one of whom we recognised from the description as Amina. I heard Rahotep growl softly as Mab spoke of her. There were men surrounding her, in combat gear and armed, one carrying a silver net, presumably the 'vampire hunter' Carlsson and his associates.

She paused for a moment. “He carries something, the one in charge, papers of some kind. Alex looked at them and read the name.....'Chevalier Pharmaceuticals'”

“Gerry!”

“I'm on it!”

I saw Gerry snatch up his tablet computer from the desk and begin to try and trace the company.

“She has gone inside the building. I cannot see anything more.” Mab blinked and her eyes cleared. 

“Got anything useful Gerry?” I asked.

“Not really” he muttered, still tapping at the screen. “It's a big Pharmaceutical company, headquarters in Switzerland, patents on half a dozen new drugs pending..... finances a lot of work in the field of biogerontology, whatever the hell that is?

“Do you know where this building that you saw is?” I asked Mab.

“I know, but I do not know how to communicate this knowledge to you William.” She looked around at the group of us, myself, Gerry, Rahotep and Rafi and his two friends. “I owe you much William, and I want Alex back with you too. If you will vouch for your friends then I will take you there. But we will need to travel through Faery so you must swear to me that none of my people will be harmed!”

“Then there will be just the three of us. Gerry you have met before, I will vouch for him and Rahotep is an honourable man who only wishes to help Amina.”

“Very well!” she said.

“Oh wait! Let us come with you....please!” begged Rafi. “You might need some backup.....we'll behave ourselves I promise!”

Mab eyed him suspiciously. “William? Will you vouch for this vampire?”

I gazed at Rafi for at moment. I really wanted to say no but I knew that he cared for Alex. I also knew that she would want me to allow him to help. I sighed to myself. “Oh very well, I'll vouch for him.”

Rafi put a hand on my arm. “Thank you! I appreciate that, you won't regret it I promise you!”


	31. Chapter 31

Dr Malik was leaning on the edge of a desk reading the file that Lucas had been holding when we were hustled out of the helicopter.

“So.......Mrs Compton, I understand that you're the Authority's Librarian?” he asked without looking up.

“That's right” I answered. “Why? Do you need some help with the longer words?”

He looked up at that and examined me for a moment. “Your blood is what I want my dear, to start with anyway.” He smiled. “There's something in it which heals almost anything......if I could synthesise that......well, my employers would pay well for it.”

“You kidnapped us and threw us in this cell so that you could take blood samples?”

“Now how else would you think I could get it?” He asked reasonably.

“Well, let's see now......perhaps you could have asked?” I suggested, with just a touch of sarcasm.

There was a growl from the corner where Louisa sat hunched on the floor. “Not a fucking chance!” she muttered.

I turned on her. “Now you see, that's just the kind of uncooperative attitude that got us locked up in here in the first place!”

Malik regarded me for a moment with mild interest. 

“Hmm.....interesting, but unfortunately your friend's response is likely to be the one we'd get if we tried to go through....shall we call them, diplomatic channels. That's why my employers decided to call in Carlsson and his men to provide us with some experimental subjects. 

He put the file down on the desk and walked over to the bars. “My employers are also leaders in the field of Biogerontology”

“The study of ageing?” I asked.

He looked just slightly impressed. “Very good! Specifically, the biological processes of ageing. Processes which you, my dear, are no longer subject to. You look to be......” he regarded me for a moment “..........in your mid to late twenties I would say and, barring accidents, you will stay that way for ever. Now why is that I wonder?”

He stared in at us through the bars like a kid outside a sweet shop. “In living flesh cells die and are not replaced, dead flesh inevitably decays, and yet yours does not. Why is that? What is there in your blood or your flesh that prevents that natural degeneration? That is why you are here my dear, as a supply of experimental blood and flesh for testing. It's fortunate that you heal so quickly and easily!”

I took a step back. “My god, you're talking about vivisection! That's not only disgusting and immoral, it's illegal!”

He laughed. “Do you really think anyone is going to find out? Besides, I could argue that vivisection is the dissection of a live subject whereas you, my dear, are already dead! My work is necessarily done in secret. That's why we had to pay Carlsson to provide us with subjects. Unfortunately as I pointed out earlier he failed to obtain any males. He's going out again in a few nights time to try and remedy that.”

“Why do you need males?” I asked curiously. “It's not as if you can start your own breeding programme! It doesn't work that way!”

Malik came up to the bars and gave a little smile. “Oh you'd be surprised!” he said. “Do you know what drug companies are really looking for? What they put most of their money into? It's not a cure for cancer I can assure you. The drug that currently makes them the most money is Viagra!”

I stepped further back from the bars as he gazed at me hungrily. “There’s also something in your blood that acts as a natural stimulant and your males have an exceptionally high sex drive my dear, as I'm sure you're aware! A study of your......behaviour would be very interesting, very interesting indeed.”

He gave me another smile and then turned and left through the door at the far end of the lab.

“Did he mean what I thought he meant?” asked Amina, looking horrified.

“I think that's what he meant, yes!” I answered.

One of Louisa's friends gave a little snigger. “Could be fun? I suppose it depends on who they can catch......”

“You see that table over there?” I asked, pointing to the far corner of the lab where I had noticed what looked like an old operating table with suspicious looking leather straps attached to it. “If you want to be strapped to that table and fucked, or worse, dissected, then fine......you stay here. Personally, one way or another, I'm getting out of here!”

“How exactly do you propose to do that?” she asked.

“That door goes into the corridor, right? And there were three guards out there when we came in. But the door he just went through goes into another lab, if we could get through there we might find another way out, at the very least they wouldn't be expecting us. They don't leave a guard in here because they think we can't get out of the cell.”

“And they're right!” she growled. “Unless......that thing you did to Louisa, could you open the door that way?”

I walked up to the bars. Could I? I'd seen Bill open the locks on Darius Ashman's cells with the power of his mind......but that was when Lilith lived in him and he had access to her power. But he had said that he still had some of her power, and that I might have it too. Besides, I had my own power. I could smash flower pots! Could I do something like that?

I stared at the lock, thinking. Bill had tried to explain to me how he’d done it but he hadn’t really understood it himself. He’d said that he had moved the internal parts of the locking mechanism…..I concentrated on the lock. I didn’t even know what the mechanism was so how on earth was I supposed to move it? I imagined it as a simple bolt going from the lock into the thick frame of the door and then imagined that the bolt was pulled back. Suddenly there was a loud click. 

Everyone looked at me. “Er…..Susie? Could you just give that door a push….?”

Susie reached for the door and took hold of the silver bars. She pushed it and to my astonishment it swung open!

“Shut it quick!” I hissed.

“What? Why?” asked Louisa. “Let’s get out of here!”

“Wait! We need some kind of plan! We’re on an island for a start, if we get out of this cell…then what? How do we get out of the building? Or off the island come to that? We've no idea how many men Carlsson has out there!”

Louisa was looking at me with a new respect. “Okay, so what do you suggest? I’m not even going to ask how you did that…..”

I went and sat down on the floor next to Susie. “My husband will come after me…..I know it. And I’ll know when he gets close. If we wait until then we’ll at least have some back up because I’m pretty sure he won’t be alone!”


	32. Chapter 32

“I will come with you!” insisted Lilith.

“No!”

She had followed us into the armoury and was now glaring at me angrily. “Don’t tell me what to do William!” she warned.

I put a hand on her arm. “Lily, please listen to me! You shouldn’t go, really. We don’t know why this has happened. This might be just what they want, some kind of trap to draw you out. That’s why you should stay here, Berenice too. Can you imagine the publicity if they managed to capture either of you?”

“Do you seriously think they could capture me?” she asked.

I sighed. “I’ve no idea what might happen if you were there Lily, but I’m sure it wouldn’t be good! I have to get Alex back, you know that and I won’t do anything that might put her at risk!”

“I’m fond of her too William” said Lily softly. “I want to help you.”

“You can help me by staying out of the way. It’ll give me one less thing to worry about!” 

She stared at me for a moment. “Oh very well! But be careful…..” she leaned forward and kissed my cheek gently “you know how much I rely on you…..on you both!” she whispered.

I turned to Queen Mab. “Can we leave from here?” I asked. “It would be better if we were not seen to leave this place.”

“Of course.” She made a quick gesture with her hand and then held it out to me. I took her hand and reached for Gerry. “Take my hand” I instructed “and place your other hand on Rahotep's shoulder. Each of you place a hand on one of us.”

Rafi gave me an odd look but reached over and put his hand on my shoulder. His two friends did the same with him and Mab stepped forward, pulling us with her. 

The cold was the first thing I noticed. The sudden shock of it ate into my bones and I felt Gerry flinch as he stepped through the invisible portal. Mab released my hand and I looked around me curiously. We were in a winter forest, the kind that you read about in Grimm's fairy tales, the black, empty branches of the trees reaching for each other and intertwining over our heads. The bright moonlight reflecting off the snowy ground. The scenery was fascinating but of more immediate interest to us were the five great black hounds who stood silently under the trees waiting for us.

“Forgive me William” said Mab quietly. “You know that I trust you, if I did not I would never have permitted your friends to pass through the portal, but I do not know them. The safety of my people must be my first concern.” She turned to the others. “My hounds will guard you until you have passed through my realm. So long as you obey my instructions you will be safe, but should you show any threat to any of my people they will stop you. Do not make the mistake of thinking that they are not strong enough!”

“You are wise your Highness, but I assure you that if any of my companions attempts to harm your people I'll kill him myself!” I eyed Rafi and his friends warningly and we set off through the glittering, ice covered forest, the great hounds padding silently behind us.

We had only been walking for a few minutes when I sensed something watching us from between the trees. I glanced behind me to see Rahotep pause and turn to look into the forest. He raised his head and sniffed at the air, then he turned to me with a raised eyebrow. He could scent the Fae hiding in the trees and I was sure he recognised the scent from Alex. I gave him a tiny nod of acknowledgement and he smiled and continued to follow me. Rafi on the other hand was clearly distracted by the delicious scent. He and his two friends both stopped and turned towards the trees. Instantly the five hounds converged on them and crouched between them and the trees, their heads low, hackles bristling.

“Rafi!” I called. “I vouched for you, remember. Make a liar out of me and those hounds will be the least of your worries!”

Rafi shook his head slightly and stood up straighter, the vivid tattoo on his cheekbone standing out starkly in the bright moonlight. Then he took his two friends by the shoulders and pulled them back onto the path. “Come on you two! We've got work to do here!”

Once he was satisfied that his friends were obeying his instructions Rafi moved up alongside me. “Where exactly are we?” he asked.

“A good question! One that I can't really answer because I don't exactly know. We are on a different plane of existence, one to which the Fae retreated when we had driven them almost to extinction on our own plane.” I explained. “You and your friends are highly honoured Rafi! No vampire has ever set foot in this place before, nor ever will again.”

He walked beside me in silence for a moment. “This is where her power comes from isn't it? Alex's power?” he asked. 

“Yes. She has Fae blood in her. It's one of the reasons that Queen Mab is prepared to help her.”

He gave me a sharp look. “What's the other reason?” 

I said nothing. 

“It's you isn't it?” he said. He glanced around and leaned closer. “She obviously knows you.......trusts you? You know the humans vastly outnumber us. We could use someone with her power on our side!”

“She trusts me Rafi because I have shown myself to be trustworthy! I have earned her trust. Partly because she knows I would never ask her to do more than she is prepared to do for me. You heard what she said, she cannot interfere in our world and she will not! She's only doing this much for me.... and for Alex.”

We walked on for a while. Rafi clearly considering what I had said. “This 'Vampire Hunter' Carlsson” he began. “You know that there are others like him?”

“I've heard!” I answered. “I've come up against these organisations before.”

“Then you must know how dangerous they are to us!” he said urgently. He lowered his voice. “We need to deal with them. There are those of us who believe that we should make a pre-emptive strike. To show them that we are not to be trifled with. The Authority's inaction is seen as weakness. You were a soldier, you instinctively took charge back there in Cairo......we could use a man like you, someone with experience of war.”

“Rafi, believe me when I say you do not want to start a war!”

“This is not like any other war Bill! They've already started it! We'd just be striking back.”

I sighed. “Everyone thinks that their war is different Rafi, that it's special, justified somehow, but they are all the same! Trust me. I fought in one war and survived several more. They all start out differently, for different reasons.......reasons which seem good at the time, but in the end they are all the same. Only the places and the names of the dead change.”

I turned to look at him and his fierce dark eyes fixed on mine. “You're a good man Rafi.” I said. “I'll admit I didn't think so at first. I thought you were an interfering pain in the ass. Worse......that you were trying to steal my wife! But I appreciate that you were trying to help her, you couldn't have been expected to understand what was going on.” I put a hand on his shoulder. “You have a fire in you. Don't waste it by trying to fight a war that you can't win. You can accomplish far more by diplomacy.”

He grinned at me. “Yeah! Right! Going to be diplomatic with Carlsson are you?”

My fangs slid out at the sound of his name.

“Thought not!” said Rafi smugly.

“Alright, you've got me there, but this is personal! He is mine....understand! If you see him, the one with the tattoos, you leave him for me!”


	33. Chapter 33

I woke feeling warm and comfortable. Where was I? I opened my eyes to find that I was curled up in our bed in the apartment in London. I was alone but I heard a sound and rolled over to see Bill come out of the bathroom. He was wearing a silk dressing gown but he hadn't bothered to tie the belt. He smiled and climbed into bed beside me. I wriggled into his arms and he held me tightly to his broad chest. 

“Where are you sweetheart? He whispered. “I can't find you!”

“You will! I know you will!” I murmured.

I put my arms around him and held him tight. “I'm dreaming aren't I?” I asked.

“Yes sweetheart” he answered “and so am I.”

“But where are you?”

“I'm in Faery. We're on our way to find you. When we emerge you will know, you'll feel me. Can you help us?”

“I think we can get out of the building but Carlsson has about a dozen men outside.”

I suddenly felt a stabbing pain in my arm and pulled away from him. “What is is sweetheart?” he asked, the concern plain on his face. 

“I.....I don't know” I clutched at my arm and he leaned forward and kissed the inside of my elbow. The pain was starting to fade and Bill trailed a finger over my cheek. “Why did they take you sweetheart? What do they want? Mab saw the name of some pharmaceutical company.......”

I hesitated. Should I tell him? If he was really here, if I wasn't imagining the whole thing, the last thing I wanted was to anger him. I needed him to be calm, but I couldn't lie to him. “They took us to a research facility. They want to experiment on us, test our blood.......”

Bill hissed angrily and I could feel his body tense against me. “They're going to pay for this!” he growled.

Before I could reply I realised that I couldn't feel his arms around me any more. I blinked and sat up. I was on the cold concrete floor of the cell. The whole lab was partially underground and light tight, a necessary requirement if you were intending to keep vampires inside, and we had slipped into sleep where we sat as the sun rose outside, but it appeared that the Doctor and his assistant had not been idle while we slept.

Just as I woke I heard the cell door slam and the clunk of the lock. Dr Malik stood outside with a rack of tubes in his hand and his assistant handed him another as he shut the door.

“Just in time! Well done!” He smiled at the lab assistant then looked back at me. “We thought it would be so much easier to get the blood samples while you slept my dear. Saves a lot of trouble and argument!”

So that explained the pain I had felt, I looked down at my elbow and saw a dark bruise and a bloody needle mark just where I had imagined Bill's lips had been a moment before. They took the samples out through the far door and this time I could see steps going upwards beyond the door.

Susie sat down beside me, staring blankly out through the bars.

“I can't feel Gerry” she whispered. “Our bond isn't as strong as yours, he has to be close for me to feel him. Can you........”

“No........but I will, don't worry!” I whispered back.

I leaned against the wall, remembering my dream. Could it be true? I could feel nothing from Bill, was that because he really was in Faery? If so he could be here any time!

“Listen Susie, we're going to get out of here. The others can look after themselves but you need to stick with me okay? The guards will probably be more concerned with us than with you but you need to keep out of danger.”

“Are you going to try and kill them?” she asked quietly. 

“No, of course not! Well, I'm not anyway, not if I can help it. I couldn't say the same for Louisa mind you!”

She seemed a little disappointed. “Well......you could make them really sorry?”

We giggled. “Yes, I could probably do that.......” Suddenly I felt something! It was Bill! I could feel his mind searching for mine. It felt angry and cold.......determined. Then as he found me I felt a rush of love so powerful that I was glad I was already sitting down.

“They're here!” I whispered, standing up quietly. “Come on, let's go while we can!”

I concentrated on the lock and slid the bar back again. Susie pushed open the barred door to the cell and we slipped silently out heading up the flight of steps. At the top was another door which I eased open and peeped carefully through. As I had guessed there was a second laboratory here where Dr Malik must do most of his work, and to my immense relief, not only was the lab empty but there was a door at the far end with a window next to it. It must be an external wall as I could see the sky through the glass. As we crept through the lab I noticed a lot of very expensive looking computerised equipment and number of cylinders marked with a hazard symbol. Oxygen and some other gases. I paused and stared at them.

“Come on!” hissed Louisa. “Let's get out of here before someone comes back!”

“Just a minute!” I whispered. “What's going to happen here if we get away? What do you think Dr Malik will do?”

“You just don't get it do you?” she whispered angrily. “I don't care what he does next! I just want to catch one of those guards and eat him!”

“Great! You go and do that and Malik will simply get Carlsson to kidnap some more vampires for him to experiment on!” I said.

“Not if I break Carlsson's fucking neck he won't!” she growled.

“Oh for heaven's sake will you just use your brains for once?” I couldn't believe she'd survived so long before the revelation if she was really as stupid as this! “You surely don't think he's the only one out there who'd hunt vampires for money?”

“Okay! So we kill Malik as well” she said “it's not as if the little weasel doesn't deserve it”

“I suspect that this Pharmaceutical company may have other scientists who could do the work but Malik is probably the most important, or he wouldn't be here. But I was thinking more about these labs. They can't do this work in any normal research facility, Malik admitted he had to work in secret. That's why they built these labs hidden on an island in the jungle. Look at all this equipment! If we can destroy this place it might set them back years.”

I pointed to the gas cylinders. “Oxygen's flammable right? And goodness knows what's in the rest of them.”

Susie had crept over to the window and looked out. “Alex! There's a big tank out here, looks like a fuel tank!”

“Of course! They must need fuel for the helicopter. If we could blow that too....... Come on!” I ran over to the cylinders. “Help me open these valves!”

 

We had slipped out of the building and were crouched under a rocky overhang about fifty yards from the helicopter. We had opened all the gas cylinder valves we could find and Louisa had ripped a pipe from the fuel tank allowing the fuel to leak out and spread over the area between the labs and the landing pad for the helicopter.

“Okay.....now what?” asked Louisa, peering anxiously around the corner of the rocks. “Someone's bound to notice we've gone soon and give the alarm.”

“I'll give them an alarm!” I muttered. “Stay back behind the rocks!”

I concentrated on my hand and brought the blue flames out until my fingers glowed. Leaning carefully around the rocks I flicked my hand towards the door to the lab. A stream of blue sparks flowed out and landed on the spilled fuel, setting it immediately alight. I watched just long enough to see the flames race outwards towards the building and down the slope to the helicopter and whipped my head back round into the shelter of the rocks. 

“Get down!” I hissed, grabbing Susie and pushing her behind me.

We clung together in a tight group for a few seconds before a massive explosion blew the fuel tank. Shards of red hot metal flew through the window and the door of the building and in seconds there was another concussion which we could feel through the rock as the building exploded in flames. Before we could move there was a third explosion and a whirring noise as part of one of the rotors from the helicopter flew past our hiding place and disappeared into the trees.

“Yep! That should do it!” said Louisa with a broad smile. “I guess they know now!”


	34. Chapter 34

I blinked and opened my eyes. We were sitting on the snowy ground, our backs resting against the bare trees. Mab had instructed us to rest as it was daytime in our world, she would take us through once the sun had set. I must have been dreaming, mustn't I? I had imagined that I was at home with Alex, but she had talked to me about her captors. She was in pain! They must have done something to her while she slept!

I looked up to see Mab standing before me, holding out her hand. “Come William! It is time!” she said with a smile. 

My companions were getting to their feet and checking their weapons, fangs clicked into place all around me as Mab waved a hand in front of us and we stepped forward.

Again the change in temperature was dramatic. We had stepped out into a clump of trees high up on a slope. Looking down I saw that we were on an island in a river, the Nile perhaps, but much further south judging by the luxuriant vegetation. Halfway down the slope was a small concrete building, almost hidden from sight by the trees. To one side of the building but on a lower level was a flat area on which stood a helicopter. A narrow path led down to a sandy curved stretch of shoreline with a wooden jetty built out into the river with a small motor boat tied to it. There were six armed men in camouflage guarding the wooden jetty and another four around the helicopter, and these were only the ones we could see.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and heard Mab's voice. “I must leave you now William. Take care and good luck!” I turned to thank her, but she was gone.

We crouched under the trees and watched for a few minutes, trying to pick up any information which might help us. The hunters appeared to be divided into two groups, one down at the shore and the other at the building. We could see four around the building and the helicopter. There were bound to be others inside, but how many?

“Rafi! You and your friends deal with the men by the dock. Try not to kill them if you can help it.....just incapacitate them.” I ordered.

I could see he wanted to argue but he nodded and gestured to his two friends, then disappeared into the undergrowth, heading down to the shore. I watched him go wondering, as I so often had during the war, if I had sent him to his death. They were outnumbered two to one, but they were much stronger and faster than the hunters, they knew what weapons they were up against and had the advantage of surprise. I dismissed Rafi from my mind for the moment and focussed on the building below us.

I saw two of the guards go into the building just as a man dressed in a white lab coat emerged and begin talking to one of the other guards. They were walking away from the building and had just turned a corner on the path leading down to the shore when there was a massive explosion. An enormous red ball of flame rose into the air from the far side of the building and a second later the concussion hit us, a wall of sound which nearly knocked us off our feet. Before I could say anything there was a second and then a third explosion and the building disintegrated, chunks of concrete flying into the air along with a plume of black greasy smoke and what I assumed to be pieces of the helicopter.

For a moment my mind went completely cold with panic. Alex! In my dream she'd told me that she could get out of the building but had she managed it? Had I imagined the whole thing? I felt for her desperately through the bond and to my immense relief I found her. She was safe!

Gerry was standing next to me, one hand on the trunk of a tree. “Oh god no! Susie!” he cried and leapt forward. 

I grabbed him and held him to me. “Wait!” I hung on as he struggled to free himself and run down into the inferno. 

“Gerry listen! I can still feel her.......I can still feel Alex.” 

He stared at me as if I had gone mad. “Well that's great Bill, I'm very happy for you both......”

“Think about this Gerry” I said calmly. “If I can feel her, she must be okay, she must have got outside the building before the explosion.” I paused and looked into his eyes, glazed pink with tears. “You know her Gerry. Do you really think she'd have escaped and left Susie behind?”

I watched as this thought sank into his pain-dulled brain. “Yes........you're right!” his eyes lit up with a new hope and he grasped my arm. “She wouldn't leave her would she? She'd have got her out too?”

Rahotep spoke up from behind us. “I feel Amina, she is frightened but otherwise unharmed.”

“There, you see. They'll have taken care of Susie, I'm sure of it.” I watched as Gerry nodded in agreement. 

“Yes, you're right!”

“Okay! Now we just saw two guards go into the building. I think we can assume that they're out of the picture. Let's get down there and find the girls shall we?” We split up and began to creep silently down the hillside through the trees.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Right! Lets get out of here before someone comes to see what caused those explosions shall we?”

We crept out of the shadow of the rocks and headed around the back of the burning building. Louisa came up beside me and together we peered carefully through the flames towards the shoreline.

“Most of the guards will probably be down there.” She snarled, her fangs fully out turning to her two friends “Bianca, Alia....come with me!” she turned back to me. “I wondered at first what Chancellor Compton saw in you, but now I think I understand. I still have no idea what you did to me or how you got us out of that cage and I don't think I want to know either, but that was a brave and clever move. I admit I'd just have got out and run for it myself, but you were right. We can't let these guys just start again with someone else. We'll head down to the shore and see if we can't pick a couple of them off. You try and hook up with your husband and his mates!”

She blew me a kiss and then they were gone. I caught a few flashes of them moving downhill and then nothing. Susie and Amina had slipped into the trees higher up the slope but I stood for a moment looking down at the river. Then I heard a small sound behind me. I turned to see one of the guards standing only a few yards away holding a pistol pointed directly at me. Oh crap! Well, I thought, I'd done my best......

I heard a sharp crack and for a moment I was confused, shouldn't I feel some pain? I seemed okay. Then I saw the pistol drop from his hand and he crumpled to the ground, rolling onto his face to reveal a gaping, bloody hole in the back of his head. I looked up to see Bill standing just under the trees with an old fashioned, long barrelled rifle in his hands. A thin trail of smoke drifted from the barrel........


	35. Chapter 35

“Thanks honey!” I said.

“Any time sweetheart!” he answered.

There was a blur and then I was in his arms. He kissed me hungrily for an all too brief moment and then hustled me into the cover of the trees.

He smiled down at me, relief softening the harshness of his features in the dim light. “I thought we were coming to rescue you! You seem to have done pretty well for yourselves.....” 

“I knew you were on your way. We'll need help to get off the island. I didn't think we could do that without you.”

“Where are the others?” he asked, stooping to pick up the rifle. 

Just as he spoke I saw Gerry emerge from the trees behind us with Susie, Amina and Rahotep. Bill and I slipped back into the trees with them, keeping out of sight for the time being. As we stood in the shelter of the trees I heard a sound on the path below us. I could tell by the way Bill's head came up that he had heard it too.

"How many guards were in the building?" He asked in a whisper which could not have been heard by anyone human. 

"Maybe one or two" I replied. "Obviously we waited for the guards in the room to leave before we got out of the cage."

Bill's eyes widened. "They kept you in a cage?" he hissed angrily. "How did you get out?"

"Well, the bars were silver.....or silver plated at least, so Susie actually opened it, it would have been extremely painful for one of us to do it. As to the actual lock itself.....

I held up a hand and concentrated. In seconds the familiar blue light appeared around my fingers. "I broke the lock!" I explained simply.

He smiled coldly. "Clever girl! That ought to confuse them.... Well, I saw another two enter the building just before it went up so that's three or four out of the way at least."

We had drawn back into the undergrowth and crouched down carefully out of sight. Suddenly I saw something moving on the path. Bill's hand grasped mine as we looked down to see Lucas Carlsson! He had evidently heard the shot and was gazing down in shock at the body of the guard Bill had killed. I felt Bill stiffen beside me as he watched Carlsson look around warily. That was when I noticed that he didn't have his usual pistol in the holster on his belt.

Bill!" I whispered, "He's lost his gun somehow....."

"He'll still be armed, men like him always are!" whispered Bill. He turned and looked at me gravely. "You trust me don't you?"

"Of course!"

"I know you have considerable courage Alex, I'm going to suggest something, but if you don't agree, just say so okay?"

"What do you want me to do?" I asked eagerly. "You want me to distract him for you?"

He put a hand on my arm. “I want you to be careful above all, but if you can distract him.......I'll be there to back you up, I promise! Now are you sure that you want to do this?”

“He's dangerous Bill, he hates us and he won't stop. If we don't stop him he'll do this to others, and they might not be as lucky as we were.......”

Bill gazed into my eyes for a moment. “Be very careful!” he whispered and then he melted back into the undergrowth without a sound.

I crept around to the left, away from the area where I knew Bill was hiding and stepped quietly out onto the moonlit grass. I had moved out about ten feet or so from the trees when Carlsson caught sight of me. He jumped back, his back to the trees and smiled slowly. 

“You!” he said. “I knew it! It was you that caused that explosion wasn't it? That other girl's older and stronger but she's too impulsive for something like that. How many of my men were inside the building?”

I shrugged carelessly. “Three......maybe four, I wasn't counting!”

He reached down and pulled a long knife from his boot. Bill had been right! He was the sort of man who was always armed with something. I moved slightly, balanced on the balls of my feet, ready to run if I had to and he watched me intently. “I'm going to cut out your dead heart and feed it to the vultures!” he growled shifting the knife in his hand to get a better grip. In that second when his grip loosened Bill was on him. He punched him in the upper arm so hard that the knife fell from his fingers and slid away in the dirt at his feet. His hand went around Carlsson's throat as he jerked him backwards.

"I don't think so!" He growled into his ear. "You're not going to be doing anything to her, ever again! I intend to tread your cold corpse into the dirt and then toss it into the river for the crocodiles.” 

He was behind Carlsson with one hand on his shoulder and he reached up with the hand which had been around his throat and grasped him by the jaw. “Say goodbye Carlsson!” He hissed, and with one powerful tug he ripped the vampire hunter's head off his shoulders.

The body twitched a few times and then dropped from his hands, falling into a pool of blood at Bill's feet. I looked at him standing before me holding the head of the man who had snatched me away from him and I shivered. This was a side to Bill that I didn't often see. He had put down the rifle and slipped out of the cover of the trees while Carlsson was watching me. I could feel the anger in him like heat pouring through the blood bond and I knew that he had wanted to kill him with his bare hands.......this was personal!

He dropped the severed head at his feet and caught me up in his arms. "Are you okay?" He asked anxiously.

I was struggling between hunger and disgust. The scent of Carlsson's blood on Bill was confusing my senses completely.

"I'm not sure." I answered. "Can vampires throw up?"

"Well, you can...... But I'd rather you didn't!"

"Okay......well I guess I'm alright then...."

He took my face between his bloody hands. "My darling Alex, you know I despise myself for having done this to you, but this is what you are now.....you know I wouldn't have killed him unless I had good reason."

I leaned forward and put my arms around him. "Oh sweetheart, I know that! I know that he deserved to die. He knew what Dr Malik wanted us for, what he was going to do with us and he didn't care! He'd just have gone out and snatched some more vampires. It's just that I'm not used to seeing things like that up close."

I looked up at him and gave him a tentative smile. "After all, I just blew up the building didn't I? So far I've killed more of them than you have!"

I felt his arms tighten around me as he held me to him. “That's my girl!” He murmured into my ear. He released me and straightened up. “Just what exactly was Dr Malik planning to do with you?” he asked curiously.

“Can we talk about this later please?” I asked. “There are things we need to discuss seriously and we can't talk just now......”

Bill nodded briefly. "Right!" He announced turning to the others who had emerged from where they had been concealed amongst the trees. "We'd better go and give Rafi and his friends a hand."

"Rafi?" I said incredulously. "You asked Rafi to come with you?"

Bill looked a little shifty. "Well......he insisted!" he muttered.

"Wait a minute!" I put a hand on his arm. "Are you telling me that Mab allowed him to come through Faery. Why on earth would she do that?"

Bill actually scuffed his foot in the dirt like a naughty schoolboy. "Well, I might have......sort of.......vouched for him......"

I gaped at him in shock. "You did what?"

"Okay! I admit it! He's not such a bad guy after all! There, I said it.......?" Bill sighed. "He could actually be a great asset to us, provided we can stop him from starting a war!"

"What!?"

"I told him to try not to kill anyone if he could help it. We'd better go and see what he's up to."

Rahotep stepped forward and picked up Carlsson's severed head by the hair.

"Bring that with you" ordered Bill. "It might make his men think twice, show 'em we mean business."


	36. Chapter 36

Bill retrieved his rifle, leaning the long barrel against his shoulder, and we set off downhill towards the river.

As we approached cautiously through the trees we heard the distinctive rattle of an automatic weapon of some kind. We all froze and watched as one of the guards came running around the bend in the path and ran out onto the jetty. He dropped his gun on the wooden planking and jumped down into a small boat which was tied up to the end of the little pier. I saw him pull out a knife and slash the rope holding the boat to the jetty and begin to paddle frantically out into the current using a single oar.

There was a shout from the opposite direction and suddenly Dr Malik burst from where he had been hiding in the bushes and ran out onto the jetty, shouting at the guard to stop and come back for him, but it was clear that the panicked guard had no intention of turning back. Dr Malik must have realised this as he ran straight down the jetty and took a flying leap out towards the boat.

It was obvious from where we stood that he wasn't going to make it and I was just about to suggest that we wade out there and haul him back when a great spout of water erupted from the dark river below him. A huge scaly shape lunged upwards, jaws wide. Evil yellow teeth clamped across Malik's legs and we heard an agonised scream as the bulk of the giant crocodile dragged him down and crashed back into the water. Bill and I ran out onto the boards and looked down. The dark water churned as the crocodile rolled with its prey. As we watched a crimson sheen of blood rose to the surface and began to drift downstream.

We looked back to where Rafi's two friends and Louisa and Alia stood watching the slick of blood drift away on the current. The remaining half dozen guards lay around them on the sand either dead or unconscious. But to my surprise there was no sign of Rafi......

We hurried over to them and I saw that only one of the guards was, in fact, dead. Two appeared unconscious, the others lay motionless, obviously too frightened to move. Louisa picked one up by the collar and began to drag him to the tree line.

“I want these men alive!” called Bill. “We need information from them.”

“Well your friend needs their blood!” she called back. “Your choice?”

We ran over to where she was kneeling in the sand at the edge of the trees and saw Rafi lying on the ground in a great pool of blood. Bianca was crouched next to him and had ripped off his bloodstained shirt to reveal half a dozen bullet wounds in a line across his stomach.

Louisa dropped the man next to one of his fellow guards who lay, pale and drained, next to Rafi, two noticeable puncture wounds in the wrist which trailed on the sand. “That last guard had an automatic!” she explained. “He sprayed bullets back at us as he ran away and Rafi was just too close......he's bleeding out faster than he can take blood in!”

I dropped to my knees in the sand and Rafi's eyelids raised slightly. His eyes were glazed with pain but they fastened on mine. “Alex!” he breathed. “Please......help me!”

Louisa looked up at me. “Can you help him?” she asked hopefully.

“I.......I don't know. I can try.”

I could sense Bill standing just behind me but I didn't turn to look at him. I knew he would want me to help Rafi if I could. However much he might have disliked him, he wouldn't want him to meet the true death. If he had been the kind of man who would let another man, even one he considered a rival, bleed to death without trying to save him then I could never have loved him the way I did......

Rafi's two friends were standing on the shore watching us when Gerry and Rahotep stepped forward. Rahotep put a hand on the arm of one of the young vampires and murmured something to him in Arabic. He nodded and came up towards us kneeling beside Rafi's head and putting his hands on his shoulders to steady him, leaving Rahotep to guard the half dozen men lying further out on the sand and I turned my attention to Rafi. I knelt beside him and put my hands on his stomach. I felt his flesh twitch as I touched him and he winced slightly with pain, but he smiled up at me with a confidence that I wished I felt myself. I closed my eyes and concentrated, feeling the blue fae magic flowing into my hands. I could feel the torn and damaged flesh and I knew that the bullets had gone right through his body ripping their way through Rafi's guts and tearing through the skin of his back. The damage was substantial, I could feel what needed to be done to mend it and I began to concentrate on knitting his flesh back together. Suddenly I began to feel faint and dizzy and I heard Rafi groan with pain. 

“What's wrong?” asked Louisa, who was crouching on the other side of Rafi and holding his hand. “Can't you do it?”

I gritted my teeth and tried to ignore the wave of dizziness that swept over me. “I can.......I can see what to do, but I don't have the strength......”

Then I felt Bill behind me. He knelt down, pressing his body against me, and wrapped his arms around me, his head on my shoulder, his lips brushing the nape of my neck. I felt his strength flow into me and Rafi hissed with pain and shock as his flesh began to knit together and the bullet wounds began to close up under my hands.

Rafi opened his eyes and looked up at us, putting a hand on Bill's arm. “You helped her?” he said weakly.

I saw Bill's eyebrow creep up and a cynical little smile appeared on his lips. “You thought I wouldn't?” he asked quietly.

“She was right about you........you're a good man” breathed Rafi softly.

“And so are you Rafael......that's why I helped her.”

Louisa crouched beside us, watching. “That's incredible! He's healing......!” She looked up at me and smiled. “Shame the little creep got away but I was too busy helping Rafi to go after him and he made it to the boat.”

“Doesn't look as though he's got very far though!” called Alia who was standing further down towards the river and looking out.

Rafi was healing by himself now and I looked away out into the river to see the small inflatable boat moving slowly back towards the shore. Oddly, the man inside was making no attempt to paddle but was crouched in the centre. And the boat appeared to be moving by itself against the current. As I watched I understood why. Half a dozen long dark shapes were floating in the water behind the boat. Several long scaly snouts emerged from the dark water and turned towards the boat, nudging it towards the shore until it was only a few feet away.

Louisa got up and went to stand next to Alia watching the little boat drift nearer. Both their tattered evening dresses were stained with blood and Louisa's long blond hair had come loose and flowed down over her shoulders. Both girls' fangs were fully out and the man in the boat stared at them, obviously terrified, and crouched deeper against the wooden seat.

Louisa raised a hand and gestured to him to come onto the shore. “Don't make me come out there and get you!” she growled, the threat clear in her voice.

“Are you nuts?” cried the frightened former guard and when he spoke I recognised him as Ray, the one who had offered to “help out” Dr Malik since they had no male vampires. I smiled to myself. He didn't seem half so keen to get to grips with Louisa and Alia now! Watching him I wasn't sure if he was more frightened of them or the crocodiles.....

Suddenly a larger crocodile appeared behind the boat and shoved it straight up onto the bank, throwing Ray out at Louisa's feet. She leaned down with a smile and grabbed him by the collar. I was sure that she would kill him, but suddenly Rahotep was beside her, a hand on her arm. His modern clothing looked somehow out of place on him but his great age showed in the way he held her off effortlessly as she struggled to attack Ray.

“No, no.....please! We need them in one piece Louisa! We have some questions for them.”

As he spoke he must have heard a sound as his head turned towards the boat and I saw that the largest of the group of crocodiles had come out of the water and was watching us. I was still crouching in the sand beside Rafi with Bill alongside me as the great creature crept carefully up to me and laid its huge jaws in my lap. To my horror I could see shreds of bloodstained cloth caught between the jagged teeth. I laid my hand gently on the rough scaly skin of its snout. 

“Sobek? That is you isn't it?” I whispered. 

A great dark eye looked up at me and the enormous beast rubbed its jaw gently against my leg like a pet lapdog.

“You killed Dr Malik?” Looking into his eyes I somehow felt that he knew exactly what had been happening on the island. “Okay! Whatever assistance you need, I'll be happy to provide......you know that, don't you?” I reached forward and began to scratch gently behind his eye as he settled comfortably into the sand beside me.


	37. Chapter 37

I looked up to see every single eye on me. Bill was evidently aware of what was happening and Rafi probably had a pretty good idea, but I was surprised to see Rahotep make some kind of gesture with his hand which appeared to be an Ancient Egyptian version of the gesture Christians use when they cross themselves. I got the distinct impression that he knew this was no ordinary crocodile and his dark, kohl-lined eyes watched me with a new respect. 

The others clearly thought that I had some kind of mysterious power over animals. Which, come to think of it, was probably easier to believe than the truth!

Bill stood up and broke the heavy silence. “Okay! Any ideas as to how we can get out of here?” He pulled his phone from his pocket and glanced at the screen. “No signal, well I'm not surprised really.......”

One of Rafi's friends held up a hand tentatively.

Bill's lips curled into a tiny smile as he turned to him. “Yes.......?”

“Um.......it's Samir, High Chancellor. My name's Samir....”

“Yes Samir?” asked Bill patiently.

“In my pack.......” he gestured at the treeline where I saw a pile of small rucksacks “I've got a radio......we can call back to Cairo, Theophanes can arrange for a couple of helicopters to come and pick us up. Um......we'll have to clear the landing platform though......”

“Excellent!” exclaimed Bill. “Then you contact Theophanes and arrange for our extraction and we'll head up to the landing platform and start clearing.....”

In half an hour we had all moved up the pathway to the laboratories and the remains of Carlsson's helicopter had been cleared from the landing pad. The half dozen surviving guards were tied up to trees with some rope that Gerry had scavenged from the jetty and he and Rahotep had dragged Carlsson's headless body from where he had fallen and dumped it in a corner together with his severed head and the bodies of the other two dead guards, one who had been killed in the fight by the jetty and the one that Bill had shot. Miraculously these, together with Dr Malik, appeared to be the only casualties. Rafi was up and walking, although still a little shaky. Sobek had watched us move off from the shore and then turned back to the river, disappearing with a swish of his tail into the dark waters. 

The landing pad was shaded by the rocky outcrop but choked with dust and ash from the fire which had consumed the building. Samir had assured us that the helicopters would be here long before dawn and so Bill and I down sat with our backs to the remaining wall of the lab to wait.

He leaned the old fashioned rifle against the wall and I laid my head on his shoulder with a sigh. “You must have had a terrible shock when you realised what had happened?” I asked quietly.

Bill put an arm around my shoulder. “Yes......it was a shock, but somehow......I didn't feel the blind panic that I've felt before. Somehow, I knew you'd be able to take care of yourself until I found you.”

He looked down at me and there was a trace of sadness in his eyes. “You're vampire now Alex. I was afraid, yes, but I know you. You're strong, brave and resourceful and you have considerable power of your own. I can trust you to take care of yourself now. You don't need me to look after you any more.”

I put my arms around him and kissed him gently. “I'll always need you Bill, I always have, right from the very first moment I met you.”

Bill laughed. “Oh now that's not true is it? The first time you met me you ran away!”

“I came back though didn't I?” I said. “I'll always come back.......you know that don't you?” 

He pulled me to him and kissed me like a man who had been starved for days. I couldn't believe that we'd only been apart for one night. I curled up alongside him, tucking my body under his arm.

"Yes.....I know that!" he whispered as he leant down to kiss me again, the touch of his soft lips sending a shock through me, warming my cool flesh until the heat began to coalesce and pool low down in my belly. His tongue slipped between my parted lips setting off another wave of heat but just as I reached for him and pulled him closer I heard the "thump...thump...thump" of a helicopter approaching.

Bill and I parted reluctantly and stood up. I noticed that Rahotep and Amina had also been curled up against the wall as were Gerry and Susie. Both couples were scrambling to their feet as the first helicopter swept in over the trees and began to descend onto the pad. We stepped back into the cover of the trees as a mushroom cloud of dust, ash and small pieces of debris was blown across the area by the helicopter's rotors. Before it had set down half a dozen armed vampires had jumped out and hurried over to us.

The leader walked up to Bill. "Chancellor Compton?" he asked.

"That's right."

"You have someone injured?" the vampire looked around and spotted Rafi leaning against a tree still looking paler than usual, the black tattoo standing out starkly on his cheek.

"He's recovering well, but if you could help him onto the first chopper I'd be grateful." said Bill.

The vampire waved a hand and two others helped Rafi into the helicopter while the others dragged over a couple of body bags which had been thrown out onto the landing pad. "You get on board sir, we'll see to the bodies. Theophanes wants them returned with the prisoners."

Bill and I allowed ourselves to be helped up into the helicopter and Bill then lifted Susie from Gerry's arms and helped her into a seat. Rahotep insisted that Gerry should come with us and that he and Amina would wait for the next one. Rather to my surprise Louisa insisted on accompanying Rafi. As they were settling in I watched as the prisoners were untied and rounded up to wait for the next helicopter which was hovering over the trees waiting for us to vacate the landing pad. As we took off I caught sight of my reflection in a polished metal panel. My face was streaked with ash from the explosion and blood from Bill's hands. Fishing under the seat I found a first aid kit containing some wipes which I used to clean myself up a little. I handed them to Bill to clean his hands and he gave me a patient look.

“I was rather looking forward to having a shower when we got back.” He said with a smile.

“Bill......we were kidnapped from a public event! I suspect that the press knew about it, didn't they?” I asked.

“Well yes....actually they did.”

“So they've probably been hanging around at Giza looking for information and could have seen the helicopters leave? What if they're waiting for us when we land. Seeing you get out covered in blood isn't going to endear you to them is it? Especially when they find out about Carlsson!”

I heard a deep, rumbling growl from Bill at the very mention of his name but he took the wipes and began to meticulously clean the blood from his hands.

When we arrived at Giza I was glad that he had since, as I had expected, there was a crowd of journalists gathered to the side of the Great Sphinx as the first helicopter landed. Bill jumped down and helped me out as Gerry did the same for Susie, then he ordered several of Theophanes' men, who were trying vainly to hold back the press photographers, to help Rafi. As we were getting out the other two helicopters landed beside us and the vampire security began unloading the prisoners and then the body bags.

There was a flurry of activity from the photographers as the prisoners appeared and the vampires began taking them towards the entrance to the nest. Suddenly a contingent of the Cairo Police arrived and an argument began between the man in charge and the head of the vampire security over who should take charge of the prisoners. The vampires argued that since their crime had been to kidnap vampires then obviously vampires had the right to deal with them. The police argued that, since they were human then humans should deal with them.

Bill put a hand on my shoulder and we began to walk towards them but just then the entrance to the nest opened and Theophanes emerged with Ulrich at his side. He smiled to see Bill and me and put a hand on Bill's shoulder.

“Well done!” he murmured quietly.

“Now then!” he marched over to the Police and took over the argument. “We will be taking the prisoners for interrogation. I can assure you that they'll be safe. If we were going to kill them they'd be dead by now! The three who died were killed in the fighting with our men while we were trying to rescue our women.”

Ulrich's determination won the day and the prisoners were marched down the flight of stone steps and into the huge entrance hallway. Theophanes' men held back the press and we followed into the cool spaces beneath the Sphinx.

“It'll be dawn soon and we need to clean up and rest” said Bill. “Can we talk tomorrow Ulrich?”

“Of course! I'll deal with everything. You go and rest.....”

Bill took my hand and we followed Rahotep and Gerry down through the dark corridors to our rooms.


	38. Chapter 38

I closed the door to our quarters and leaned against it for a moment. Then I pulled Alex to me and kissed her, putting all the relief I felt at having her back into the kiss. I released her reluctantly, led her into the bathroom and removed the ragged remains of her evening dress. She stood before me in her bra and panties with a shy little smile and reached behind her back to unfasten her bra while I hooked my fingers into the sides of her panties and eased them down so she could step out of them. 

I stripped quickly and we stepped into the shower together. Both our bodies were filthy with blood and dust but I was only concerned with her. Her long black hair was grey with dust and ashes and she stood as still as a statue as I poured shampoo into my hands and began to gently work my fingers through her tangled hair. I could feel her relaxing under my touch as I gently washed her body, stealing kisses as I went, on her throat, her shoulder, her breast, her stomach. Her legs were particularly filthy as she had torn the bottom of the dress off to enable her to run and I knelt before her and carefully cleaned every inch of her perfect ivory skin. Then I quickly washed myself, wrapped her up in a warm, fluffy towel and carried her to bed.

She lay in my arms, cuddled up beside me and I knew that I never wanted to be apart from her. I thought about my feelings for her and was slightly ashamed of myself. In the beginning of our relationship I had regarded her as a pet, a charming and likeable pet admittedly, I had known that I loved her but what I had felt then was nothing compared to how I felt now. I had known that she was special from the very beginning but I could have had no idea how far her talents would take her. Even when she was merely human she had been intelligent, brave and resourceful. She had done what neither Ulrich or any of the Authority had dared to do. She had entered a house full of dangerous vampires, the weakest of which was capable of killing her easily, and she, a fragile, helpless mortal girl, had gone up against an ancient vampire Goddess and won. She had risked everything to help me.

Now, as a vampire, she was rapidly developing into a powerful being who was quite capable of looking after herself. I had meant what I had said to her as we sat on the island waiting for the helicopters. I had not felt the panic that I would have expected to feel when I discovered that she was missing as I had confidence in her ability to deal with whatever her new life threw at her. And I had been right, she had not only got herself and the others out of the silver cage but destroyed the building where she had been held captive. I was proud to be able to call her my wife.

I felt her lips brush my ear. “You're very quiet?” she murmured. “Restrained too, I expected you to be all over me by now!”

“There's time!” I whispered with a chuckle. “I'll be very happy to oblige you, but first I want to know what was going on in that laboratory. What did they want you for?”

She was silent for a moment and I rolled over onto my side to face her. “I mean it Alex, you have to tell me!”

“Yes......I know. But you're not going to like it, or what I think we need to do about it!” she said with a sigh.

“The doctor, Dr Malik, the one who was snatched by Sobek, was employed by a company called Chevalier Pharmaceuticals and Carlsson and his gang of hunters were employed to acquire vampires for them to experiment on.”

“I know this” I said. “Mab saw the name of the company through your eyes when she was trying to trace you. You told me about the experiments......but I was dreaming then, wasn't I?”

“Then I was dreaming too” she said. “I dreamed that we were in the apartment in London, I spoke to you and you told me that Mab was helping you, leading you through Faery...... Do you remember that?”

So I hadn't imagined it then. I had never heard of anything like this happening before. I could only assume that it was some effect of our powerful blood bond, possibly enhanced by Lilth's power in me and Alex's fae power. We would have to think about this later......

“So what was this research about?” I asked.

“They wanted to test our blood, to isolate whatever it is that enables us to heal and not to age as humans do” her voice fell to a whisper. “They were going to use us as test subjects....for vivisection.”

I hissed quietly but she put a hand against my chest. “That's not all. They were interested in........well, in vampires' libido. Malik was furious with Carlsson because he hadn't brought him any males. I hate to think what he intended to do with them.......”

I lay beside her trying to keep my temper under control. I had a pretty good idea of what they wanted male vampires for!

“Listen Bill” she said urgently. “We need to talk to Ulrich about this. “We should be doing this research ourselves!”

“What?” I sat up suddenly and looked down at her in shock. “Are you serious?”

She sat up beside me, the cotton sheet sliding off her bare shoulders, and I suddenly got a rush of vampire libido!

“Yes! I'm perfectly serious!” she stared at me sharply. “You've always known that humans use our blood as a drug? Well wouldn't it be better if they could get it without killing us for it? To be honest I'm surprised that no-one's tried it before. If we can isolate the information necessary to manufacture synthetic human blood, then why not vampire blood?”

I stared at her, astonished. I realised that no-one had thought of this because we didn't really think about humans at all. Even I, who considered myself to have been a mainstreamer even before the Revelation, tended to think of humans as lesser beings simply because they were weaker physically than us. Living with Alex should have taught me that they were just as intelligent, if not more so in some cases.

“Malik was a slimy little creep, but he had a point Bill. There must be some reason why our bodies don't age, why the natural cellular degeneration no longer applies to us” her beautiful grey eyes were fastened on mine and shining with excitement.

“What if we could find out why? Imagine how we could change human medicine if we could slow down the ageing process?”

“My God Alex, can you imagine what would happen if that were possible?” I couldn't believe the enormity of what she was suggesting.

She smiled and reached out to trace a finger down my chest. “Oh I'm not suggesting that we should try and discover the secret of immortality! That would be a disaster! People think that it's a wonderful secret but they're wrong. This world is overcrowded as it is, what if it were filled with those who couldn't die? And their children, and their children's children. It could bring about the end of civilization! No, but perhaps we could discover something which could keep people healthy, prevent the degenerative diseases that come with natural ageing?”

Her fingers were tracing the muscles of my chest and heading down to my stomach and I strained to concentrate. 

“Even if we didn't succeed, just the fact that we were seen to be trying to do something which would be of benefit to humans would be to our advantage don't you think?”

“Damn, she was smart!” I thought. 

“You're quite right.....although you might have a hard time selling it to Lily!” I murmured.

Her hand had slid down across my stomach and began to gently caress me while murmuring in my ear.... “That's why I need you with me as backup. That's just one of the many reasons that I need you.....”

She leaned forward and pressed her soft lips to mine, I felt her body shift closer and the smooth skin of her thigh brush over mine. “What are the others?” I whispered.

“Oh I think you know.....” 

I reached around her slim body, my hands curling around her buttocks. She snuggled closer and I felt her lips brush against the hollow of my throat and the slight scratch of her fangs on my skin.

"Hungry sweetheart?" I asked. "I don't suppose they fed you.....well, nothing other than Susie I guess!"

I had meant it as a joke but Alex flinched back and buried her head in my chest. "Oh don't say that please! I feel guilty enough as it is!"

Puzzled, I took hold of her shoulders and pushed her gently back so that I could look down into her face. "What is it Alex? What's wrong?"

She wouldn't meet my eyes but stared at my chest and muttered quietly "I fed from Susie....."

I couldn't quite see the problem. "Well.....she offered presumably? I mean....you didn't attack her?"

She pulled away and stared at me in horror. "Oh God no! How could you think that?"

I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her back, holding her close against my chest and trying to ignore the soft cushion of her breasts pressed against me. "Okay, so what's wrong? Tell me what happened."

"It was after we had escaped from the lab. Louisa and her friends had gone down to the river after the guards and Amina had gone to take a quick look around. I was feeling a bit weakened as I'd used a lot of effort to open the lock and to set off the explosion and........well, she offered her wrist and I drank from her."

"I'm sorry love....I just don't see the problem?"

"Well, when the guards asked Dr Malik what they should do with her he told them to throw her in the cell with us as it would save him having to feed us." I gave an involuntary gasp of shock. Well, he'd certainly got what he deserved then. "Louisa went for Susie.....she was going to bite her but I warned her off. She ignored me, so I used the fae power to throw her against the bars......" Alex looked up at me with pink tears in her eyes. "She burned Bill, I hurt her........I was just trying to help Susie. But then I fed on her myself.......how hypocritical was that?"

I kissed her gently on the forehead. "It's not the same thing at all sweetheart, nothing like it. Louisa would almost certainly have drained her. You absolutely did the right thing to protect your friend. When she offered her wrist to you it was as much for her sake as yours."

"How on earth do you make that out?" she asked.

"Look.....Susie's an intelligent woman. She knew that they weren't going to let her go, they couldn't, not after she'd seen what was happening. You were all in a very dangerous situation and she was the most vulnerable of you all as she doesn't have your strength and speed. She needed you to take care of her, she knew that you'd protect her and so it was to her advantage to make sure that you were able to do that!"

I watched her think about this for a moment. "Isn't it just what you'd have done for me if we'd been in trouble together?" I asked.

"Well, yes......I suppose so....." she began to relax a bit. "I still feel guilty though...."

"You shouldn't Alex, really. We all knew that you'd take care of her. When we saw the building go up Gerry panicked at first, but when I told him I could still feel you and you would have got Susie out as well, he knew I was right, you would never have left her behind now would you? You looked after her and she did all she could to look after you...."

I felt her begin to relax in my arms as she realised that I was right. After a moment she wriggled up against me and murmured “I only took a little.....”

For a moment I thought she was attempting to justify herself, but then I saw her eyes. She was hungry.......for me. I pulled her closer and laid my head back against the pillows.

“Take what you want sweetheart” I whispered. I could feel the skin of my throat tingling in anticipation and the smooth skin of her stomach rubbing against my swelling manhood. She kissed the hollow of my throat and her hand slipped down between our bodies, grasping my stiff shaft firmly and easing it inside her as she sank her fangs into my flesh. My eyes rolled back in my head as I arched my back, taking her even as she took me.......


	39. Chapter 39

The next evening Theophanes came to our rooms and asked us to join him as he was going to visit the prisoners. I had to admit that I wasn't very keen on the idea myself. I felt that I'd seen enough of those guys to last me a lifetime but I thought I should probably know what was happening so Bill and I accompanied Theophanes on a trip into the depths of the Giza plateau. He led us down a series of corridors, all elaborately decorated with the sort of sharp relief carving that would make most Archaeologists squeal with excitement. About five hundred yards beyond the main living areas we came to a pair of heavy wooden doors and passed through into corridors which were clearly much older, possibly older even than the Sphinx which guarded the whole complex. 

There were the usual torches set into holders in the walls but we could see very well in the dark anyway. The six hunters we had brought back did not have this advantage and were sitting huddled on a padded bench at the far side of the chamber. They all looked up and peered hopefully at us as we entered. When they recognised me they slumped back onto the bench. Several of Theophanes' men stood around but I was relieved to see that the men appeared unharmed. Not that I was concerned about them particularly, but I knew there would be trouble if any of them were found to be injured when we eventually released them to the human authorities.

“Got anything useful Greg?” Theophanes asked the heavily built vampire who seemed to be in charge. 

“Not really” said Greg, looking frustrated. “They all say the same, that they were recruited by Lucas Carlsson as 'Vampire hunters'”. Greg flicked his fingers in a little gesture as if to put quotation marks around the phrase and snorted in disgust. “They claim to know nothing about the laboratories on the island or what their employers wanted the girls for. They confirm that this doctor was disappointed in them when they returned with six females. He apparently wanted some males as well. They've not really told us anything we didn't already know, although they confirm that the employer was Chevalier Pharmaceuticals. They were basically just hired muscle. Carlsson was the leader.”

He glanced at Bill. “Pity we didn't get him alive really.......”

“He wouldn't have told us anything” said Bill calmly. “He wasn't the type.”

“I think he's probably right” I said. “He hated us so much he'd have rather made a martyr of himself than tell us anything. I just wish I knew why........”

“Well we'll never know, but at least he won't do this to anyone else” said Bill firmly.

Just then the door to the chamber opened and Ulrich came in with Lilith. She put a hand on Bill's shoulder and glanced over at me. 

“I'm glad to see that you're both back safely” she said.

“What can you tell us about them?” asked Ulrich.

“Greg's right. They're basically just hired muscle” said Bill. “Carlsson was in charge.”

“And you killed him?” asked Ulrich, looking slightly annoyed.

Bill glared at him. “Yes! I don't intend to apologise for it Ulrich so don't waste your time asking me! He kidnapped my wife and handed her over to some cowboy medical team to experiment on......trust me, once I got there he was never going to get off that island alive!”

Ulrich sighed. “I can understand that, but he might have been able to tell us something useful.”

“I doubt it!” I said. “Dr Malik treated him with contempt. I can't believe they'd have told him anything important. They just used him to get what they wanted. Besides, if we'd brought him back here we'd only have had to hand him over to the Police so you wouldn't have been able to question him......thoroughly.”

Ulrich eyed me for a moment. “You're probably right” he admitted eventually. “At least he's out of the way permanently.”

Lilith had prowled across and was eyeing the prisoners curiously. “These are the ones who call themselves “Vampire Hunters” William?” 

She reached out and took hold of one particularly frightened looking young man by the throat, staring down at him, her eyes flickering with a dangerous red light. “You would dare to try and hunt my children?” she hissed at him.

Bill looked slightly alarmed and turned to her. “Lily” he said quietly. “Please don't hurt him, we have to hand them back to the mortal authorities.”

She looked up at him, still holding the hunter. “You think that is the best course William?”

“Yes I do.”

She released him, reluctantly. “Very well.”

He stared at Bill, rubbing absently at his throat. “Really?” he whispered. “You're going to let us go?”

“Certainly not!” snapped Bill. “We're going to hand you over to the authorities.”

A look of amazed shock passed over his face and Bill examined him for a moment. “Why? What did you think we'd do?

“But......Lucas said.....”

I saw Bill smile to himself. “What did Lucas say?”

He gave the others a worried glance and then looked back at Bill. “He said if we were captured we'd be done for. That you'd drain us dry and then kill us.”

“Well I hate to break this to you boys but Lucas was wrong!” said Bill with a patient sigh. “Oh, other vampires might have killed you, sure! But not us. You see, whatever Lucas might have told you, we are not all the same. Just because you treat us like animals doesn't mean we have to behave like them. Or like you come to that!”

He walked over to the young man and knelt down in front of him. “What happened to you?” he asked curiously. “Why do you hate us?”

Lilith stood beside him with a hand on his shoulder as the young man stared into his eyes. “My sister........a vampire killed my sister.” he whispered.

I couldn't see his face but I could imagine the pain in Bill's eyes as he reached out and put a hand on the young man's cheek. “I am so sorry, for your loss and your pain. But think about this. If your sister had been murdered by a human, would you go around kidnapping humans at random.......handing them over for vivisection?”

The young man held his eyes for a moment and then looked down, embarrassed. “Carlsson lied to you” said Bill quietly. “He used you.........he took advantage of your pain to further his own ends. But you are not like him, any more than I am like the vampire who killed your sister.”

Just then Theophanes' phone rang and, after a glance at the screen, he turned to Ulrich. “The Chief of Police has arrived to take custody of the prisoners. Together with a mass of journalists....”

So we headed back upstairs. The humans had been invited into the huge entrance chamber and were looking around in awe at the double row of huge columns and the elaborate ancient carving on the walls when we arrived. Gerry, Susie, Rahotep and Amina were already there and Rafi and his friends arrived with the three girls just after us.

We gave an impromptu press conference. Susie, who was in her element, fielding most of the questions. After going through what had happened on the island the next clamour was for information on the prisoners. “Has anyone seen them?” yelled someone.

"I have" I said. 

All eyes, and microphones, immediately turned to me and half a dozen voices began shouting at once. Our security guard held up a hand and roared for silence. He pointed at a journalist. "Your question?"

"What condition are they in? Where are they being held?" he asked.

"That's two questions" I said with a smile. "But I can assure you they are all fine and they are being kept in considerably better conditions than those in which they kept us!"

I suspected that Theophanes was waiting for just such an opportunity as at that moment the great carved wooden door opened and the six prisoners were escorted out, blinking in the bright flashes from the photographers. The Police Chief marshalled his men to hold back the mass of journalists and took charge of them. 

At the last moment the young man whose sister had been killed by a vampire turned back. One of the policemen tried to hustle him forward but he shrugged him off and held out his hand to Bill who took it and shook hands with him. The photographers went wild!

After that the media coverage was very fair. They seemed to be sympathetic to us in this instance, possibly because the hunters had kidnapped only women. Although everyone knew that female vampires were just as deadly as males somehow the pictures of a bunch of girls climbing out of the helicopters in torn evening dresses along with half a dozen big muscular guys in combat gear brought out the protective macho instincts of the press corps. I doubt that we would have garnered as much sympathy had it been males who were kidnapped!

The fact that, of the group of hunters, only three bodies were brought back helped as well. I suspect that the press had expected us to kill all the hunters and the fact that, on Bill's instructions, and mine, we had kept as many alive as possible was quite a shock to them. They were unaware as yet that another three or four had been killed in the explosion at the laboratory, not to mention Dr Malik whose remains, I suspected, would probably never be found. I noticed that Rafi had been walking with a noticeable limp and leaning on Louisa although I knew it wasn't necessary as he was completely healed. Still, it wouldn't hurt for people to know that we had sustained casualties as well.

The other point in our favour proved to be Susie. The press had been outraged that the hunters had kidnapped a human girl and when they found out their mistake, had treated her no differently to us. Susie, being a journalist herself, had wasted no time giving an interview in which she quoted Dr Malik's words to Carlsson when he had asked what to do with her.....“Leave her in there with them. It’ll save us having to feed them.” She made a point of describing how Amina and I had cared for her and protected her during the escape whilst diplomatically failing to mention Louisa's attempt to feed from her. I'd felt obliged to apologise when we met that night but she had laughed it off using almost the same words as Bill had done. That she had needed me to take care of her. We stood looking at each other for a moment and then she grabbed me in a big hug. I was incredibly relieved as I had been afraid that I had ruined our friendship for good.


	40. Chapter 40

We spent a few more nights in Cairo, recovering and the night before we were due to leave Berenice arranged for a visit from one of the best Jewellers in Cairo. He and his assistant spread out his wares on tables in the main lounge and the ladies drooled over the glittering array whilst we stood back and looked on, bemused. I was relieved to see Alex and Susie with their heads together leaning over a pile of gold chains, clearly Alex had got over her embarrassment and their friendship was as solid as ever. They each purchased some small items and hurried off to our rooms, presumably to try them against various items of clothing.

After she had left I wandered curiously over to the tables where a fortune in gold was laid out on black velvet cloths. However my eye was drawn to an area to one side where I noticed several more unusual items. Moving over towards them I saw the most magnificent strand of black pearls. I called them black as there was no word I knew which could describe the actual colour. They had a sheen of blue and purple, like the colours you get in a drop of oil and their smooth lustre reminded me of the reflections of the flickering firelight in Alex's sleek hair. Alex was always beautiful to me, but to my mind she was at her most beautiful in the firelight. For a moment I imagined her lying naked on the rug before the great Inglenook fireplace at the Mill House and felt a distinct erotic tingling sensation at the vision.

I reached out to touch them and the eyes of the little Egyptian jeweller snapped across to me eagerly. "Ah! The Tahitian Pearls! Sir is evidently a connoisseur!" He reached over and placed them in my hands and to my surprise they felt warm, almost alive against my skin. The string was about eighteen inches long with an elaborate gold clasp. The pearls were graduated in size, smaller beside the clasp and getting bigger towards the front where there hung a matching elaborate gold setting in which lay an even bigger pearl. I ran the string through my fingers feeling the sleek, smooth surface and I knew that I had to have them for her.

"How much?" I asked.

He named a price which, had I still possessed a beating heart, would have stopped it dead! He saw my horrified expression and leaned forward, looking around in a conspiratorial manner. 

"Sir has excellent taste! You have unerringly selected the most valuable item here today! The Tahitian Black Pearl is the rarest of all pearls, Produced by the black lipped oyster in the warmth of the South Seas." He took the string of pearls from my hands and ran them through his chubby fingers. "These are the highest quality, almost flawless and perfectly matched." He laid them down on the velvet pad and reached down under the table. "And I'm sure that Sir would also be interested in these?"

He produced a pair of earrings, each a large black pearl in a matching gold setting.

"Sir will be bankrupt at that rate!" said a voice from behind me. I turned my head to see Gerry looking over my shoulder. "Are those genuine Black Pearls? They're hideously expensive!"

Somehow Gerry's words made me even more determined to have them and I pulled out a credit card. "Alex is worth every penny to me!" I said, handing it over.

"Oh boy! Susie's going to be so jealous when I tell her."

"Don't you dare say a word!" I said, slipping the long velvet box into my pocket. "These are a gift for our wedding anniversary and if Alex finds out in advance I'll kill you.....understand?"

He grinned at me. “Okay, I promise to keep quiet!”

I headed back to our rooms where I found Alex trying on a pair of golden earrings in the shape of scarab beetles.

She turned to me eagerly as I entered. “What do you think Bill? Aren't they adorable?”

“They're beautiful” I smiled down at her and reached out to brush the thick glossy hair back off her shoulder so that I could examine the little earring more closely. 

As I bent my head I caught a breath of her perfume mixed with her own, delicious scent. The slight tingling I had noticed earlier became suddenly more urgent and I caught her up in my arms and pulled her to me. She gave a little sigh and pressed her body against mine. In all my years on this earth I had rarely met a more responsive woman. Just as I bent my head to kiss her there was a knock at the door. I felt her body shake as she laughed, probably at the disappointed expression on my face!

“We've plenty of time, we're not due to leave until nearly dawn” she whispered.

I kissed her quickly anyway and turned to the door. “If that's Gerry I'm going to kill him!” I muttered to myself. 

But when I opened the door Rahotep was standing outside. He was dressed once more in his customary white robe and looked more than ever like one of the priests painted on the walls of the ancient temples, especially as he was holding in his hands a small alabaster pot.

“I’d like to speak with your wife for a moment if that’s possible?” he asked.

“Of course, come in” I said. I glanced over at Alex, “do you want me to leave?” I asked doubtfully. I was reluctant to do so and might have argued if Rahotep had said yes.

However he replied “Not at all, this concerns you as well I think.”

He turned to Alex. “Amina has told me everything that happened on the island. She says that you used some strange power to open the locks on the cage......and to protect your friend Susie from the other vampires?” 

His dark eyes slid over to me. “I suspect that this has some connection with the Faery Queen who assisted us in finding the island?”

Alex and I both nodded silently.

“She also told me that you admired this.” He held out the little alabaster pot and Alex carefully lifted off the lid. A warm, heavy perfume filled the air, reminiscent of incense. 

Alex smiled happily. “Amina's perfume! Oh yes, I loved it!”

He placed the little pot in her hands. “Then this is for you.”

She looked up at him solemnly, her grey eyes glowing. “Thank you Rahotep, I'll treasure it.”

I went over to get some drinks and Alex sat down on one of the couches. He smiled at her and sat down on the other couch, accepting a bottle of warmed Tru Blood.

“I have a question for you” he said. “There’s no polite way to work around to this, so I’m just going to ask you straight out” he said, watching Alex carefully. “That crocodile……it was no ordinary animal was it?”

I saw Alex's eyes flick over to me and almost asked “What crocodile?” but I knew it would have been pointless.

“No…..it wasn’t.” She answered quietly.

He turned to me. “You knew about this beforehand didn’t you?”

“What makes you think that?” I asked warily.

Rahotep smiled. “Oh come on! It was obvious. You adore her, that much is quite clear. You crossed over into a different plane of existence, shot one man and killed another with your bare hands, all to protect her and yet when the crocodile began to walk up to her you didn’t move a muscle. You knew it wouldn’t harm her!”

I looked at Alex apologetically. “Ooops!”

Rahotep was staring at her, his dark eyes burning with an intense hunger which had nothing to do with his vampirism. It was a purely spiritual hunger. He had seen something which had fired his imagination, sparked a long forgotten belief.....and he wanted more.

"Please......tell me?" he pleaded quietly.

She sighed and I knew she would tell him the truth. Well, if the Gods had wanted to remain in hiding then they shouldn't have shown themselves at all! I thought. 

"It was Sobek" she said simply.

Rahotep leaned forward eagerly. "How do you know?" he asked. His eyes turned to me. "You've met him before? At the temple?" I had known that he was highly intelligent and intuitive, he was clearly putting the story together for himself.

"Yes. When we came out of the temple with the Heart of Eternity he joined us on the shore......we talked." I explained.

"You spoke with him? He was human?"

"Well.....not exactly. We saw him first as a crocodile and he stood up and took human form to speak with us....."

We recounted our conversation with Sobek and then, with a little prodding from Alex, I reluctantly related my encounter with Bast as well.

Rahotep sat silent and as motionless as only a vampire can, listening to us and then, to my consternation, he put his face in his hands and began to weep quietly. Alex moved over to the other couch and sat beside him. "I'm so sorry!" she said, putting an arm around his shoulders. "I didn't mean to upset you...."

"Oh no! It's not that...." Rahotep sat up and pulled himself together, taking a handkerchief from a pocket and wiping the blood from his eyes. "when I was young.....it's so long ago that I can barely remember it, but I had such faith. All I wanted was to serve the temple, to become a priest. I believed completely in the existence of the Gods. But then, when I was turned, I lost that faith. I couldn't believe that the Gods I had served so faithfully and for so long could allow such a thing to happen to me. But now it seems that I was right after all? My Gods do exist.....truly?"

"It would seem so" I said. "But I doubt if they took any interest in individual humans in your day, although things might have changed now!"

Rahotep's head snapped around to me. "Why should that be?" he asked curiously.

"It would appear that your loss of faith affected the Gods as well as you!" I said. "According to our sources the Gods gain their power through worship and through our faith in them. Although the ancient Gods may still exist, they have been greatly weakened by our lack of belief."

Alex put a hand on Rahotep's arm. "I know this must have been a considerable shock to you but can I ask you to keep it a secret for now. I honestly have no idea what, if anything, he's going to do and the last thing I want to do is offend him in any way by spreading this information."

He looked puzzled. "But surely this knowledge would only increase belief in him. He would be strengthened by it."

"Nevertheless, I think that we should wait. If he wishes to make himself known to us, or to humans, then he should let us know himself" she said cautiously. "He trusts me and I wouldn't have betrayed his trust by revealing his existence to you if you hadn't seen him yourself and, I think, guessed?"

“Yes......I see.” Rahotep sighed. “Well.....I've waited thousands of years, I can wait a while longer.”

He stood up. “I've made another decision as well. I travelled the world when I was young but I have not left Cairo for many centuries. Amina has been badgering me to take her to London and I think now is the time. I feel that I should meet with the Authority. Perhaps, now that Alberic is gone, they might be more susceptible to my ideas for the Library.” 

He smiled at Alex. “Together we should be able to convince them my dear, I feel sure you can be very persuasive.....” he glanced at me with a twinkle in his eye and I blushed furiously.

“You must stay with us!” I said, trying to cover my slight embarrassment. “We'd be delighted to see you and Amina.

He smiled. “That's very kind. Amina was hoping you'd say that! Well, I must go, you'll be leaving soon and I'm sure you need some time together.”

There was that twinkle again! Damn, it was so unexpected from someone who appeared so stern and ascetic. I was beginning to think that the lovely Amina saw a completely different side to him than everyone else. 

I saw him out and turned around to see Alex reclining on the big feather mattress. “Well, I've already packed for the trip home but we've got hours before the cars arrive. What on earth are we going to do with ourselves?” she asked with such an air of innocence that I had to laugh!

“Oh......I've got some ideas!” I said walking over to her. 

She held out her arms to me and I sat down on the bed and relaxed into her embrace.

*** The End***


End file.
